The Memoirs of a Queen: Trail of Blood
by Dark-Godess21
Summary: The Queen of the Dead's story continues with Victoria's vacation cut short. The vampire king needs her to locate a source of rare blood. She finds a compass that only she can use. It sends her on a long journey with vamprie hunters, a French army, and the end of the vampire line. (Third Book in The Memoirs of a Queen).
1. A Short Vacation

Prelude

Just one taste...that's all I wanted. Just a little taste...what could be so bad about that? I screamed out once in frustration. It was a short, sharp sound. The person behind me tightened their arms around my waist in a death threatening grip. I clawed at the arms that trapped me, screaming and growling.

"Just a drop, I swear." No one would listen to me. I was dying. The blood in my system was completely gone, and all my veins were dry. I screamed out, trying to claw at the arms again.

"Let me have it!" I wiggled out of his grasp.

"No!" The man screamed behind me.

The dripping red goodness was only a few feet away. My flaming throat and veins were applauding for me. The burn increased every second I got closer. My fangs came out, not ready for a kill, but in excitement for the most delicious blood I have ever smelt.

My hand reached out to the porcelain tub, which was filled with ruby red blood. The waterfall above, which heated the entire pool, called me to it. It was an overwhelming desire. I couldn't think about anything else.

Something slammed into my side, sending me toppling into a pillar of rock. I immediately got up, and lunged at my attacker. The woman gripped my hair, and then threw me over her head. Her skills were slightly better than mine, but deep inside I could tell that I was faster. She would not steal the blood from _me_.

I charged again, aiming my teeth for her skinny throat, but I was stopped again. Another person came behind me. Unfortunately, I forgot about the man who held me back. A hard arm wound around my chest, and pulled me away from the woman. I gripped his neck and turned around, attempting to bite. My fangs went deep into his neck, and I tore it apart.

He screamed out in a painful yelp, and then dropped me. I flung myself towards the woman, who was beginning to run away from me. I snapped her neck with a simple movement of my wrist. She made a small squeaking noise, and then slumped to the floor. I was surprised that I'd disposed of them so quickly. I grinned at my work. All of the blood was now mine.

The man made a gargling noise, and then a small sigh that sounded like my name. The familiar sound of his voice made me turn from the blood. The man was lying a few feet from me. I stepped closer to him as my breath caught. Blood pumped from his throat where I tore it open, and he was barely conscious. I touched the hem of his leather jacket before sliding my fingers through his dark hair.

What have I done?

I looked down to the left of me. The woman was lying next to me; her eyes were a dull green and forever open. I gasped and sank to my knees. I had destroyed everything I had once loved, and all for blood.

Williams' Court 2025

"I was confused, (at the time) by Lucifer's letter. I did not see why he always wanted _my _help. Surely he could have found a much more worthy hybrid, that's what I thought. Now I see that I was the only one capable of doing such a job.

I had defeated a witch, one of the more powerful ones. That was the start of my newly acquired abilities. At the time, I thought it was because of what she had done to me. Her magic and lightning m_ust_ have given me the electricity. I have recently come to find that I was wrong. Her magic only awakened what was already inside of me. I alone had that power, and no one would take it from me.

Axel of Crystophia was one of the strangest creatures I had ever met. That includes the 'Devine Beings', fairies, mermaids, ghosts, witches, and tyrans. Kathanna Moores did not fall into the category of _creature_; she was something else all together. To this day, I have no idea what she is. She would never tell us.

Axel had almost destroyed the world. But this time, it was not me that stopped him. I normally would have gladly taken credit for it, but what happened was out of the ordinary—"

"Your majesty?" A servant bowed to me.

"Yes," I snapped, always irritated when I was busy.

"The king is waiting for you in the lobby," the squirrel-like hybrid replied.

"Thank you...Jeffrey," I cringed, hoping that's what his name was.

He didn't say anything, I must have been wrong.

My husband, my _king _was the only person I considered to be above me. He thought it was silly of me, that I shouldn't think of him in that way. He only thought that because I was queen, and everyone listened to me...not him. I listened to him. The family stays with me; I wouldn't have it any other way. We have grown into quite a large family.

No one knows how it became so.

"Should we finish the story later, your highness?" Desiree asked.

"No. Now is a good of a time then ever. The king can wait a little longer. I've needed to tell this for a long time now," I smiled. It felt good to release all this information. If I die someday, she could tell my story to others.

"Very well then," she smiled, as she sat back down.

"Lucifer did want my help, and he came to me soon to get it. I hadn't expected that it would go so far. I didn't know that what they were after was so powerful. I would have killed anyone to obtain it, and I did.

If I remember correctly we were on vacation..."

Ch 1.

A Short Vacation

Derrick fell to the ground with a loud 'humph'. It was the twelfth time today. He took another deep breath, crouched down roughly, and then sprang into the air. A grin spread across his face when he did not come down right away. It changed to a grimace, however; when he fell flat on his face.

We were 'vacationing' as they put it. Anna convinced Victor to put in a pool a few months ago. The workers had just finished yesterday, so we were trying it out today. It was the middle of summer, but at times it didn't seem like it. Some days were as cold as the end of winter. Today was not one of those days, though.

Anna was cooking on a nearby fire pit, which she had talked Victor into buying as well. She said it had to go with the pool, and there were no exceptions. Victor was not pleased, but he did as she said. (That was usually the case with them). Anna was cooking fish tonight; it looked like we would not be short of fish for a long time. A pile of fish sat on a plate next to her, and it was piled at least a foot high. Would we really eat _all_ of that for dinner?

Victor was lying on a hammock, sleeping. Being a hybrid lawyer was a hard job. He often drank more then he could swallow. I felt bad for him sometimes, but I knew that he loved his job. That was all he did when he got any time off, sleep. I could tell that Anna wished he would spend more time with us.

I crossed my ankles, as I set my head back against the lawn chair. There was still a little sun up, so I wanted to soak in as much as possible. I flipped my sunglasses over my eyes, and watched the pool water ripple. The wind had picked up, but it wasn't as bad as it could be.

I did not wear a bathing suit. I didn't like them. I felt like I was naked in front of everyone when I wore them. I wore jean shorts, and a white tank top. I didn't feel the need to wear shoes.

Amelia was in the pool alone. Derrick _was_ in the pool with her, but he needed a break from it. She was flipping around in the water, and diving under. She would go in at one end, and then be in the opposite side in half a second. It was not a small pool either. Our relationship had not improved much since I tried to kill Derrick.

I knew it never would.

"I will get this!" Derrick declared after his cussing fit. Then he went back to a tree to mediate some more. He had been doing so for the past hour, and I frankly didn't think it was doing him any good.

Emilie was lying in a lawn chair across from me, sunbathing. She had a fashion magazine next to her, as well as pink lemonade. With everything she did, she always did it in perfection. I was a little jealous of her, but I let it go. She was my sister, and my best friend. It wasn't good to harbor anger over her.

Xavier was lying next to her, however; he was staring at me. When I caught his gaze, he grinned. Xavier was perfectly fine after all that had happened to him. I didn't know how lightning was able to heal his condition. I didn't even know what had happened to him. He wouldn't tell me. It made me mad sometimes.

"What is it?" I laughed once.

"Can't I admire the most beautiful creature in the world?"

"No," I laughed again. "She is too exquisite for your eyes. Be careful or you will go blind," I warned.

Xavier grabbed me by the waist when I had looked away. I was crushed to his chest, and wrapped tightly in his arms. I giggled almost the whole time, which caused Amelia to hiss at me in disgust. Yes, she was still very angry with me.

"Go get a room," Amelia muttered.

I watched her walk away from us, and back into the pool. She looked like a model on the runway. I wished I could look that good, but sadly I was a plain hybrid. Xavier was watching my face carefully, and then he rolled his eyes at me. I'm sure he knew exactly what I was thinking, and he was thinking I was crazy.

"You _are _beautiful," Xavier told me. Then he flipped his sunglasses over his eyes and sat back against the lawn chair.

Emilie lifted up her sunglasses to look at me. "He's right you know."

"No one asked you!" I snapped, but tossed some water out of my bottle at her.

She screamed, and ran into the pool. That didn't make much sense. Why get wetter? Out of nowhere, a giant wave swooped over my head.

"Run! " Xavier yelled, and then dove out of his chair.

I didn't have a choice. I closed my eyes, and held my breath as the waves swirled around me. I couched as all the water settled into the grass. Xavier was laughing behind me, he too was soaked. Derrick was even laughing from the tree a few yards back.

"Emilie that wasn't nice at all," I scowled at her.

"It was fun, though," she smiled wickedly. Then she did it again.

She was dead. I was going to kill her. Axels' revenge, Madena's spells, and all the power of the ancient ones had nothing compared to me. I launched myself out of the chair, and flew into the air. I aimed downwards toward the pool, and at Emilie.

Derrick looked up at me with tenacious envy deep in his eyes. He had been trying to fly for a whole week now. That's why Anna had decided that we needed a vacation, for family time. She should have known that he still wouldn't stop trying.

Emilie ran across the water away from me, however; my flight was faster than her running. I slammed on top of her, which sent us both deep under the water. I could hear Anna yelling at us to knock it off. She didn't like anyone fighting, especially when we were having family time. Emilie and I wrestled under the water for a few minutes, but we came up when Anna sent Victor in after us.

Victor didn't like being bothered when he was relaxing. All day, everyday he sat in a chair, read a book, and then fell asleep. That was his idea of a vacation. Victor put his arm around me, and laughed.

"No more fighting now. This is a vacation, and if I don't have _my vacation_…you won't have one either." Victor warned, and then sat on his hammock again.

Emilie and I laughed silently a couple times. Emilie swept her hair back until it was perfect. Then she sat on a lounge chair to resume her tan. I didn't see the point really, why tan when we were always pale?

"Girls don't get too into it like that again," Anna turned to me.

Anna had been cooking almost all day. I thought she would have wanted to relax, and make fruity drinks on vacation. But she acted like she was at home again. We were at home, but it was supposed to be a vacation. Xavier returned to his seat and laughed at me a couple times. I'm sure it was because I was completely soaked. I knew I probably should have worn a swim suit.

"Here," Xavier handed me a bikini.

I looked it over. It was black and purple. The top had swirls all over it and the sides of the bottom did as well. I glared at him. He knew I didn't wear these.

He laughed out loud when he saw my face. I tossed the bikini aside, and sat back down in my lawn chair.

"I will get it this time," I heard Derrick mutter to himself.

"Derrick maybe you should just face the fact that you can't do it," I suggested, "I was surprised that I was able to do it, and I don't think I am the same thing you are."

Derrick ignored me and tried to jump into the air again. He hit a tree and rolled across the soggy sand.

"What do you mean you don't think you are one of us?" Anna demanded. She put her dark hair up in a ponytail. It was recently cut, so it only came down to the bottom of her hairline.

"The man who kidnapped me told me I was different than you. That I was an entirely new breed," I explained.

Anna didn't hear a word I said. "I don't care what anyone says to you. You belong with us, no matter what everyone says."

"Thank you," I whispered, and then turned away to laugh.

"Who said that?" Emilie looked up at me.

Xavier was watching me with curious eyes as well.

"Ivan, Madena's husband." My teeth curled over my lips when I uttered their names. I hated thinking about them, and what they tried to do to me.

"How did he know that?" Xavier interrupted Emilie.

"I have no idea. He took my blood, maybe he could tell from that. Or maybe he was just crazy," I sighed and sat down on Xavier's lap.

"We don't have to dwell on the past," Xavier murmured while rubbing my back.

I smiled and laid my head against his chest. He smelt like apricots and pineapple, probably because we just ate those. I watched Emilie out of the corner of my eye; she was staring at her phone with a sad face. She had not talked to Dimirtri since he told her about the sacrifice. She missed him.

I couldn't help believing that I was responsible. I had lied to Aleksander and told him I killed his sisters. I didn't mean to, he made me mad. He had probably told his brother about it, and made him hate us. I wished there was something I could do about it.

_Everything is always your fault. _

I flinched a little. Xavier saw my surprised face and looked at me strange.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing is wrong."

I didn't want him to know about my mental health. I believe Axel had done this to me, although; he would never admit it. I always had a voice in my head, but it was my own voice. It was starting to get hard to know which was me or which was it. Sometimes I could barely stand it.

I would never tell anyone about it. Of course, I thought I was over it...till now. Why does she do this to me? I guess I like to torture myself.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Xavier asked again. His brow furrowed in concern.

"Yes I am sure," I smiled. I hoped he wouldn't see through it. We were on vacation, and needed to relax. "I'm going for a swim," I informed him.

"Okay," he whispered.

I could feel his eyes on me when I went into the water. I tried to ignore the anxious feeling that swam over me. Amelia was swimming a few feet away from me, and glared when I passed by her. I didn't know what her problem was, like she wouldn't have been depressed if Derrick disappeared. I swam over to her, and decided to demand what her problem was. Amelia glowered at me, while I came closer to her, but I didn't care.

"Go bother someone else with your boring chatter," she muttered, while closing her eyes.

"I don't know what I did to make me hate you hate me," I replied, (besides, attacking Derrick). I expected her to come back with something cold and rude. However, she actually answered me.

"I've never really liked you," Amelia looked up to the sky. "First you ruined our chances to live normally, then you threw us all to the wolves, so to speak. I don't even want to think about Anna going crazy, and the witch."

"How is any of that my fault?" I exclaimed.

"Don't think I've forgotten about Derrick," Amelia stated.

"That's not fair!" I snapped. "I couldn't control myself, and he is fine."

"It doesn't change anything."

I growled, and swam away from her. I couldn't win, and I would never be her favorite person. I dunked underneath the water. The sun shimmered against the water, as I looked up at it. My hair flew around my face, and made me irritated. I felt like going up for air, but I didn't want to. Maybe I should just stay down here.

I watched my hair float beautifully in the water. It looked so much shinier then out of the water. My butt hit the bottom of the pool, and I stretched out against it. My eyes closed, as I felt the water shift me back and forth.

The shimmering effect changed under the water becoming brighter. Then it was suddenly gone right when I was about to touch it. I growled under my breath as I looked around for something else to do around here. The bottom of the pool was clean and dark blue. It was hard to see anything at the bottom of it. I felt around for something, anything to draw my attention away from the family. Something was indeed in the water, but that something was Amelia's.

She lost her gold bracelet. I picked it up and turned it in between my fingers, wondering why she liked it so much. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. That wasn't Amelia's usual taste at all, everything she owned was perfect.

I looked over the ugly red jewels that were not perfectly aligned. I'm sure most of them weren't even real. The gold was ugly and old looking. It clasped together with a large, old fashioned band. I didn't understand what she saw in it.

Someone tugged on my arm, which brought me back to reality. Xavier was next to me in the water, and he brought me back up to the surface. I didn't want to go, but I figured the food was ready. He just stared at me, and said nothing.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Xavier wiped the water out of his face. "You were down there for a long time. No hybrid can hold their breath that long."

"I was?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, look around." He gestured to the sky.

It was completely black out, and Anna had a fire going. Everyone, except the two of us, was gathered around it. I looked back at Xavier with a look of surprise on my face.

"How long was I down there?" I whispered.

"Half an hour, I think," Xavier pondered.

He was right. We could only hold our breaths for ten minutes. I was a lot different from them. My mind let's me know that everyday. The powerful part of my brain buzzed. It demanded to make itself known. I fought it back, and tried to focus on getting out of the water.

"Emilie thought we should tell you the story of Lucifer," Xavier commented.

"The devil—" I said slowly to myself.

"Lucifer Van Nosferatu, the first vampire." Xavier rolled his eyes, and chuckled a little.

"Oh."

"You had to do a favor for him, so you should know about him." Xavier had a sour edge to his voice. He didn't like that he was weak enough to be captured, or all the things I had to go through.

"It's not your fault," I told him.

His expression didn't change at all.

"I'm serious Xavier." I pulled him to a stop and turned him to face me. "Why do you think it's your fault?"

"I should have been able to—" he started.

I cut him off. "No, there was nothing you could do. He is another creature with an unbelievable amount of power. There was nothing any of us could have done." I wanted to make sure he stopped blaming himself. It was an almost impossible task.

"Let's go eat." Xavier pulled me out of the water.

Emilie bounced up to me when I trudged out of the water. "Hungry?" She waved a bowl of food back and forth in front of me.

I couldn't help, but smile. My fangs came out. Then with a hiss, I swiped the bowl out of her hands. Derrick laughed when I ran away from her to eat it by myself. Amelia just rolled her eyes at me, and then crossed her legs. Victor was leaning towards the fire. His eyes were staring into the flames intently.

Emilie sat next to me on the cot, after I was done eating. She didn't want to risk being attacked, I assumed. Xavier sat across from me, and stared into the fire like Victor. Well he won't be speaking to me anytime soon, I thought sadly.

_Why would he speak to someone like you_?

I was begging to have enough of the mental voice. In fact, I had enough when it first started talking to me. I put my head against my knees and watched the fire too. After a few minutes of silence, Victor spoke up. It startled me.

Emilie laughed and pulled me back onto the bench. I was embarrassed that I had fallen off. Derrick was trying to disguise his laughter as coughing, but I knew better. Amelia was looking up to the sky, and ignoring me. Xavier seemed to be doing the same thing. Anna sat next to Victor when he started to speak again.

"Lucifer is a very old vampire," he began. Then he looked into the fire for what seemed like forever. His eyes looked bright red. "He is the very first one to be more exact," Victor mumbled.

I already knew all this.

"No one knows how he was created or how the vampires came to be. It will forever be a mystery," Victor mused.

"Why?" I asked.

"Lucifer always tells a different story every time," Derrick replied with a laugh. Then he twirled his finger in a circle around the side of his head.

I laughed a little. Lucifer was crazy. That much was certain. I couldn't help, but think he sort of liked me in a way. Victor spoke again, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Lucifer put the Reneflauses in charge because he didn't want to deal with everyone. I think he has now realized his mistake, which is why he wanted you to make sure they were gone." Victor tossed a log onto the fire, and sparks exploded everywhere.

"What are the rules?" I wondered aloud.

"What rules?" Victor looked up from the fire.

"Lucifer told me you had broken rules, so that's why I had to kill Olivia for him," I explained.

"Oh those," Victor muttered. "I've never had to worry about those before. I was always above them."

"Apparently not anymore," I commented.

Emilie giggled. "There are a lot of rules."

"Emilie," Anna scolded, "without rules we would all be in chaos."

"I don't see how that's any different then how we've been living before," she argued back.

Anna didn't say anything after that.

"We can't let anyone know we exist," Victor told me. "That ones obvious. Then there are a bunch of smaller stupid ones."

"Like what?" I asked, intrigued.

"You cannot kill a vampire unless you have a good reason," Derrick smirked. "Then there's _you have to kill a werewolf if you see one_. My personal favorite is, _no crossing of the species_."

I had to laugh at that one. "Did he decide to just ignore that one then?"

"Well we're still alive," Victor pointed out.

"True."

"Quit distracting me!" Victor snapped.

I smiled apologetically. "Sorry." Emilie and I laughed under our breaths.

"Lucifer lives in Transylvania," Victor started.

"That place is real?" I uttered.

He glared at me darkly.

"Sorry." I pretended to zip my lip.

"Transylvania is what he calls his city. It's a tourist spot," Victor smiled. "He also has a vampire theme park."

I shook my head in disbelief. I almost thought he was messing with me, but his face was dead serious…literally.

"Most of his family was slaughtered by Madena long before I was created. All that remained of what he used to know was Alecia. That's why he's so protective of her," Victor explained.

"And that's why he sends images of her instead of the real thing," Emilie laughed. "I still don't know how that's possible."

"We may never know. Lucifer has always kept to himself," Victor murmured. He gazed into the fire for so long that I was worried he would go blind. "Lucifer has always been crazy, but I think it wasn't that way before his family's death. I think there was a time where he ruled with nobility and strength. Now he just strikes fear to get his way. When he wants something he always gets it, that's why no one crosses him."

"What would happen if he—say he wanted a person?" I asked quietly. I hoped no one would ask why.

"I'm sure if Lucifer wanted someone then he would have them," Victor replied.

I scowled, but stopped after I saw Xavier staring at my face. He didn't need to know my worries. He was already upset enough about them. I really wished he would get over it.

"What is one of the stories he tells people?" I asked curiously.

"It was late on night, and this was during renaissance times. Lucifer had put the horses away in the stable, after feeding them. It was later then anyone ever stayed up back then. He heard screams come from the house, but there was no one inside."

Victor cleared his throat. "Lucifer looked around in each one of the bedrooms, but no one was there. When he looked outside, all of his family was standing near a cliff. He thought they were going to jump. Lucifer ran out screaming at them, but one of his sisters jumped before he could stop them."

"That's so sad," I murmured.

"It's not real, remember?" Derrick chuckled.

"Oh right."

"A light flashed over the remainder of them, but it wasn't there for very long. When it went away they were not the same. They had a fierce thirst that they couldn't contain, and unbelievable strength," Victor muttered.

"So they were all the first vampires," I whispered. "How do the other stories differ?"

"By a lot," Derrick laughed.

"I am heading to bed," Victor groaned.

I watched him walk over to the house. Anna followed after him when she finished gathering the leftovers. She did so in seconds. Emilie laid her head against my shoulder, and sighed. I didn't ask her what was wrong.

She sighed three more times before I got annoyed and asked her. "What is it?" I muttered.

"I'm so use to having to kill someone that I feel like I need to," Emilie replied.

"What?" I laughed.

"I need to go on a dangerous mission, and kill someone," she repeated.

Derrick chuckled. "And we need to be captured again right?"

"It wouldn't hurt," Emilie smiled, "I can pull you out of a tree again."

"That was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced," Amelia spoke up for the first time.

"Oh, Amelia," I spoke up, feeling awkward with everyone staring at me, "I found this in the pool."

Her gold bracelet shimmered in the light, not looking spectacular at all. Amelia took it from me before I could blink. She was already sitting in her seat not acknowledging me. Derrick gave her a disappointed look, but she ignored him too. I caught her glancing at me a couple times when Emilie was talking. She looked away when I looked at her.

Xavier wasn't looking at me either. I decided to continue talking to Emilie then. "What happened when Victor was bitten?" I asked her.

"Oh, that's a long story," Emilie laughed. Then she brushed her hair into a ponytail.

"Will you please tell it?" I batted my eyes at her.

"Oh alright," she laughed. "I don't remember the exact year, but it was close to two hundred years ago. They lived in a little house and had a few carriages. That was a lot to have back then."

"How many members were in his family?" I asked.

"Well let's see," she pondered. "He had his parents and then six other siblings, (not including him). There are four boys, including him and then three girls. Abigail, Elizabeth, and Maria are their names. Then his brothers are Vincent, Jonathon, and William. The parents are no longer alive, but all of his siblings are."

"What happened that night?" I leaned in as my curiosity grew.

"I've only heard the basics," Emilie warned, "Victor doesn't like to talk about it."

"That's okay," I smiled at her. "Go ahead."

"It was late in the night, and back then they went to bed earlier. So it was probably like ten," she chuckled.

I smirked.

"Victor is the oldest, therefore; it was his job to protect the other kids. When he heard one of his sister's scream, he leapt out of his bed. He found his sister, Elizabeth on the floor with blood leaking from her throat. He told me that he screamed, and that caused his location to be known," Emilie paused, "now you know that a vampire would find you eventually, but that caused him to be caught a lot sooner."

"Which vampire attacked him?" I interrupted her.

"We have no idea." Emilie glared at me, annoyed.

"Sorry," I smiled apologetically.

"Well he suspects someone," Derrick spoke up.

"Who does he suspect?" Emilie and I asked together.

"Who doesn't he suspect?" Amelia rolled her eyes.

Derrick smiled. "Okay so he suspects a lot of people, but there is one in particular that he hates. He thinks Liam did it, but he has no way to prove it. I think he just hates his kind and what time era he comes from," Derrick concluded.

"He suspects anyone who was born before him," Xavier told me.

I smiled at him. I was glad that he started talking to me again. Something was really bothering him. I don't think it was what happened last spring either. This was something new.

"Can I get back to my story now?" Emilie asked, annoyed.

"Maybe, if you start telling it right," Derrick smirked at her.

"There is nothing wrong with the way I tell it!" Emilie snapped.

"Just like there was nothing wrong with you spying on me," Xavier grinned at her.

"Shut up," Emilie said simply. "Okay where was I? Oh yeah. Victoria quit staring at Xavier and pay attention to me!"

I looked over to her with a smile. I thought I was going to blush, but then I remembered I couldn't. Xavier chuckled at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him. Emilie did not continue the story until I was looking at her.

"The vampire slammed into Victor, and he went flying out the window. It was so fast that he didn't see anything. He didn't even notice the bite on his arm until it started to hurt in the rain. It, of course started to rain so he could see absolutely nothing. Not that he would have seen the vampire coming anyway," Emilie smiled.

"I think you are forgetting something," Derrick chuckled.

"What?" Emilie hissed.

"Nothing, forget it," Derrick got up and went to the house.

Amelia got up and followed him. Xavier stayed in his seat, and stared at the dancing flames. I looked up at the stars as Emilie continued her story. I felt like going for a fly later, but I was starting to get tired.

Something pushed me into the flames. I screamed while seeing oranges and yellows hurling over my body. I heard Emilie scream at Xavier and then scream at me. I managed to roll away from the fire and dust the flames off my clothes. Amelia was glaring at me from the other side of the fire.

I stared at her with wide eyes, actually frightened of her.

"She stole my belongings, Emilie," Amelia hissed. "This is the final straw!"

Xavier was on top of Amelia in a matter of seconds. Emilie was on top of him, pulling him off her. They wrested around the fire like this for at least ten minutes. I backed away as slowly as I could. My limbs and face were burning; it was worse every time I moved. I cringed as I pulled myself into a sitting position.

Anna came running to us at this point, screaming her head off. She always came when the damage was already done. Derrick heard her screams and ran from the house. Victor never made a sound, all he did was snore.

"I didn't steal your ugly bracelet Amelia. It was in the pool." I could barely cough out the words with my mouth singed.

Anna was next to me, touching my face. "You poor child. I'll get some blood."

I cringed away from her painful touch as she ran back to the house. Derrick was pulling Amelia away from the fight. Emilie was pulling Xavier away from Amelia. This has happened before, and no doubt it would probably happen again.

I tried not to look at my burned flesh, but my eyes kept wandering to my hands. I closed my eyes tight when I saw the charcoal color. Xavier was growling furiously, trying to end Amelia once and for all. I knew he really wanted to do it this time. He hated when she put me in harm's way. This time was a little different, though.

She pushed me into the fire pit.

Xavier ripped a bunch of Amelia's hair out as she tried to run away. He threw it down with a fit of rage. "I am tired of this Amelia!" He cussed. "I am so damn tired of all this. Why can you not accept that she is the one I chose?"

Amelia touched the bald spot on her head, showing the blood there. "She will never be one of us."

Something shimmered behind her back. It sparkled in the light of the moon. She was feeling a little uneasy about it, I could tell. Amelia pulled the syringe from behind her back.

Everyone did a double take. A few of us gasped.

Xavier was taken back at first, but his face turned dark. I had never seen him look so frightening in my life. He looked like a true hybrid. His fangs came out fast, as did his claws. He took off towards his sister faster than I could blink.

I screamed out at him to stay away. "Don't you go near that poison!"

Amelia grinned as he took off. I watched her flip over him just as he reached her. She took the tip off the needle, squirting it a few times. Green liquid spilled out the top and then fell down the tube.

I was choking I was screaming so loud.

Xavier turned his head towards her to make sure she was in position. He looked up to the sky just as thunder roared above. Amelia was in a crouched position with one arm in the air, (the arm that held the syringe). Xavier turned his body to face hers and then balanced on his feet with perfect precession.

Derrick and Emilie hadn't recovered from their shock. There was no one to stop this from happening. No one, but me. This couldn't happen, I wouldn't let it. Not again.

I crawled over to them with every ounce of energy I had left. Xavier and Amelia had begun to charge. Please, don't do this. I crawled over to where they were about to hit. I was going to hit her with electricity, but she jumped over me. I gasped as she flew over my head and towards Xavier's surprised face. I then screamed at the top of my lungs as the syringe came down on Xavier's neck.

"You should have stayed out of the way!" Amelia screamed at him over and over.

Amelia's neck was gripped tightly, and then snapped in the same movement. I only saw this out of the corner of my eye, though. I was focused on the needle sticking out of my husband's neck. Victor dropped Amelia to the ground, pulled the needle out of Xavier's neck, and then glared at the rest of us.

I sighed in relief when I saw she didn't inject it.

"Are you okay?" I whispered to Xavier.

"Yeah," he scowled, rubbing his neck.

"This nonsense has to stop!" Victor exploded. He picked up his daughter and flung her over his shoulder. "Why can't you get along?"

I pointed my small finger at Amelia.

"I will have a talk with her when she wakes up." He left us once more.

"I am so sorry you two," Derrick said as he left us as well.

Anna rushed out after he went in. She gave me a large bottle of heated blood. I drank it down without hesitating. I could feel the healing process take effect, and my charcoal skin turned back to normal. I think it would take longer for my hair to grow back all the way, though.

"I am going to make sure your father deals with Amelia," Anna sighed sadly.

Emilie sat next to me with an apologetic look on her face. Xavier stalked over to the fire and sat in the chair farthest from us. I sat next to Emilie, who gave me another bottle of blood. I chucked it quick and then sighed when it was empty.

"Your face is fine now," she whispered.

Xavier looked at me and then looked away.

"Can you finish the story about Victor?" I asked for a distraction.

"I suppose if you still want to hear it," she replied.

"I do."

"Well when Victor returned to his home, his parents were in their beds. They did not survive the transformation. They had lost too much blood. He was devastated, of course, but it became much worse when all his siblings were bitten. He thought they were all dead for awhile, but then Elizabeth woke up," Emilie frowned slightly.

I wasn't sure why that was a bad thing. However, then I thought about it for a few seconds. "She attacked him didn't she?"

"Yes. Elizabeth fed off her brother, and then a few of the other siblings," Emilie replied. "I have no idea how they discovered what they were. Victor never talked about anything more," she sighed. "I suppose I should get some sleep. We were up all of last night." Emilie put some water over the fire, and trotted back to the house.

"What's wrong Xavier?" I asked when Emilie shut the door.

"You know what's wrong," he replied coldly.

"There's something more then that. You need to tell me what it is," I whispered. I came over to him and sat in his lap.

He welcomed me with open arms, but there was still sadness in his eyes. I wanted to take all his pain away. I thought maybe he was still in pain from the 'Frankenstein' experience. Or perhaps it was something else entirely. He was very upset about Simone, Luke, and Nickoli. That was not his fault, though. Surely he would know that.

He could be just upset about Amelia trying to kill him as well.

"No one's death is because of you." I touched his face.

He did not answer me.

I thought if I gave him more time he would answer me. I sat against his chest and waited patiently. He had been fine earlier, and I wanted him to go back that way. Xavier used to be so sweet and caring before his disappearance. In a way, I missed my husband. The one I used to know last fall.

"Will you please talk to me?" I begged, desperate for any sign of my old husband.

Again he said nothing.

"Fine, be that way!" I snapped, and then got up from his lap. I trudged past the house, and into the vast woods. Xavier didn't say anything to me, and honestly I didn't want to speak to him for awhile. The woods were wet and filled with green plants.

I didn't like the gross look of them. I tried to avoid them the best I could. I did not know how long I had been walking, but the forest grew darker with every step. It seemed to grow thicker, as well, and I soon became lost. However, I didn't care. I didn't want to go back, and deal with cold silences.

There was no trail anymore. All I could see were thick trees and shrubs. I had to duck and dodge my way through them. Soon there was a small light at the end of the clearing. I thought I had somehow got turned around.

No. That was impossible. I never went anywhere, but north. The light grew brighter when I stepped closer to it. It was not a blinding light, but a flashlight light. Someone was there before me, holding up a lantern. I could not tell who it was.

"Come with me if you want to live," the person said with a creepy voice.


	2. Memory Loss

Ch 2.

Memory Loss

"Let go of me!" I ripped the man's hand off of my arm.

"Stay still," the man commanded. Then he put his fingers on my lips, and pulled me close to him at the same time.

"What are you—" my voice came out muffled.

Something moved ahead of us, and I froze in shock. I then cowered behind the stranger, even though I knew I couldn't be harmed. The man smelt of sweet scented cologne and pipe tobacco. I breathed in the sweet scent, and then backed away from him slowly. A creature was walking towards us, and I didn't know what it was.

"What is that?" I started to say.

"I told you to shut up," the man hissed, as he put his hand over my mouth.

I knew who was in front of me now. It was either Liam or Lucifer. I couldn't tell them apart. I might be able to tell by their personalities. It was hard, but I tried to keep my mouth shut the best I could.

"He can see everything you know," he whispered to me.

"Who can?"

"The one eyed wizard," he replied.

"What?"

"Axel. Who else would it be?" He snapped.

"Oh. Why is he here?" I said in confusion.

I could tell it was Lucifer now. He rolled his eyes at me. Liam didn't even know my name, so it couldn't have been him. I didn't ask him any more questions.

"Come with me. He is after the both of us." Lucifer grabbed my waste, and pulled me forward.

"Okay," I whispered. I didn't really have any choice in the matter.

We walked through the forest for hours. It seemed like hours, anyway. It might have only been one. I looked up at the moon, and saw that it was growing lighter out. Yep. It had been many hours. Why did I always lose out on sleep?

"How did Axel know where I was?" I asked when the coast looked clear. We had hidden in a bush to check. Lucifer answered when we started to walk again.

"He knows where everyone is. He found me, so I knew he could find you."

He looked at me in the way that Xavier did on our wedding day. That bothered me a little. There was nothing I could do about it, though. I gripped his hand, and flitted through the trees with him. Hopefully, that would keep him distracted for a little while.

"Are we going to your home?" I stopped to ask him.

"He knows where I live. I can't go home. Unless...I fly," he smiled.

"You can fly too?" I asked in surprise.

"No. Why?" He asked, confused.

"Why are you like this?" I stopped, and turned to him. "You have a brain in there. I have seen you use it before." I touched the side of his face. I have no idea where my bust of courage came from, but I was proud of myself.

"What are you talking about?" Lucifer narrowed his eyes at me.

"The way you act," I began. I really had no idea how to dumb it down. "You need to exercise your brain more," I finally decided.

"Okay," he said, "I'll work on that."

Thank god he didn't get mad at me. "When did you meet Axel?" I wondered aloud.

"He came to me at my home. I wrote soon afterwards," Lucifer replied. "He wanted me to use my dragon powers for him, but sadly I am a vampire."

I shook my head once. He was never going to change. I patted his shoulder. "I'm sure you are a great vampire."

"I try," Lucifer sighed, "I have struggled with being a dragon for years. I am glad that I'm a vampire now, it's easier."

I had to laugh at that one.

"What?" Lucifer asked.

"Nothing," I chuckled. "Where are we supposed to go?" I asked, distracting him. Lucifer didn't say anything to me for a long time. "What if Axel is catching up with us?"

"Who's Axel?" Lucifer narrowed his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "He's the demon from another planet, who wants to use you for some reason. You literally just told me this earlier. How can you forget so quickly?"

"Why are you screaming at me?" Lucifer exploded.

I backed away from his sudden hostility, which made no sense at all. I needed to learn to shut my mouth. I always got myself into trouble. Lucifer noticed my wide eyes, and frightened appearance. He pulled me into his arms, and held me tightly.

"Do not fear me. Please, forgive my behavior. I am not naturally a tyrant like this," Lucifer stroked my face.

This wasn't a good idea. I felt obligated to remind him that I was happily married, but I wasn't really happy right now, _was I_? I lay against Lucifer's chest with my eyes wide, waiting for it to be over. I was sure that he had a thing for me. The sun would be up in a half an hour, but Lucifer still wouldn't let go.

"Could your strange driver give us a ride somewhere?" I asked.

"That's a good idea," Lucifer looked down at me. "I'm glad I thought of it. Let me get Henry on the phone."

His name is Henry. I should have asked if he was alive or dead. He was the creepiest person I've ever seen in my life. "Will he be driving the carriage?" I had to ask.

"Most likely," Lucifer smiled.

"How did you meet him?" I stammered.

"He was our butler when my parents were alive. I let him be my coachman after the accident. He never really got over it," he murmured.

I watched him curiously. Lucifer's eyes got darker, and he looked like he was lost in a deep memory. I didn't want to disturb him, but the sky was getting lighter. I swore I could hear something in the bushes getting closer and closer. I ran past Lucifer, and climbed up one of the pine trees. When I was on the top branch, I looked around to see if anyone was heading towards us. I didn't see anything, but that didn't mean that we weren't alone.

"My love, I don't think we are going to win this fight," Lucifer called to me.

"What fight? You mean against Axel?" I hopped out of the tree.

"Yes, I think. I'm not sure," Lucifer said in confusion. "Henry will pick us up at the edge of the beach."

"That's so far away," I groaned.

"No." Lucifer took my hand, and led me through the trees.

This reminded me of when I was first turned, and everyone drug me around wherever they went. I didn't like it too much then, but I am use to it now.

"Where is Henry taking us?" I asked.

No answer.

The sky was getting lighter by the minute, and I was appalled when it started to turn red. I had asked Lucifer about it. He told me that it was because of Axel. He was already taking control over this world. And there was nothing we could do about it.

"Can you think of anything that can stop him?" My simple question came out like I was begging.

"Nothing comes to my mind," he replied simply.

I already knew there was nothing in his mind.

"The beach is just ahead," Lucifer murmured.

"How did we get here so fast?"

"It's a vampire thing," Lucifer winked.

"Why can't I do it then?"

"Okay," Lucifer revised, "it's a Van Nosferatu thing."

He pulled away the bushes to expose a gorgeous beach. It was ten times lovelier then the ones I had seen before. Lucifer told me that this was where he had been staying, but it was no longer safe. He really shouldn't have had Henry meet us here. I was beginning to feel more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Hello Henry," Lucifer greeted the, (dead or alive man) with a smile.

I watched him approach the coach, but something was not right. Something seemed very off about the old man. When I was about to come a little closer to it, the carriage exploded. Lucifer and I flew back into the pine trees. The old man laughed until it turned into a very familiar laugh. I gripped Lucifer's hand, and we ran back the way we came. It was Axel pretending to be Henry, and that meant that he was dead.

That's _if_ he wasn't already dead.

"Where are you taking us?" Lucifer demanded.

"We are going back to my family's home, so we can inquire a vehicle. I might warn them if there is time too." We flitted through the trees, and jumped over a large stream. I landed on the edge of the water, and almost slipped in. Lucifer gripped my hand tightly, pulling me back up to him.

"You cannot die yet," he told me with a smile.

Yet?

I put it in the back of my mind, next to the powerful spot where I hid the lightning. The garden came sooner then I expected, and I almost crashed into the house. The fire was out, and everyone appeared to be asleep. Even Xavier was no longer sitting by the fire. He didn't even bother to look for me, or at least make sure I was in bed. This infuriated me more then anything else ever had. Lucifer ran past the cabin, going straight to the garage next to it.

We had only taken one vehicle. It was the SUV because it was the only one big enough to fit all of us. That's why I didn't choose it. There was no time to warn the others, but at least I had a phone on me now. Derrick had left his in the car, and he never used it anyway.

"Take me somewhere safe," I commanded Lucifer.

He nodded once. "Do you want to take the speedboat?" Lucifer whispered.

"It will be faster then anything else, and we are not very far from land. Are you not taking me somewhere safe?" I asked in paranoia.

"I am taking you to a home," he said.

"Which home?" I said in between my teeth.

"My home," Lucifer clarified.

"I thought you said he came to your home to find you," I argued. "That is a very bad idea."

"That is my summer home Victoria," Lucifer rolled his eyes. "We are going to my real home. I already gave Alecia instructions to meet us there."

"And where is that?" I asked skeptically.

"Transylvania," Lucifer said simply.

I looked at him like he was on fire. "There is no such place," I told him.

"There is," he smiled. "You only think that because I wanted everyone to think that. I don't want any people thinking that we exist. It is underneath my Transylvanian theme park," Lucifer explained.

"How is that keeping it secret?" I glared at him.

"Oh please, who would suspect that Transylvania is in Transylvania," Lucifer muttered.

I said nothing more to him. He was delusional. We were already half way there, Lucifer drove like a maniac. I half expected someone to call me, but they never did. Surely they would have heard the car start. Maybe they just didn't care.

"There's the boat," Lucifer pointed ahead of us.

A small speedboat was sitting in the water ahead of us. Lucifer stopped the car, but with the speed he was going we flipped. I screamed as the car rolled into the trees. Lucifer was laughing the whole time. I wanted to rip his throat out.

When the car settled and the glass fell around us, I stopped screaming. Lucifer also stopped laughing, and broke out the front window. I would have followed him, but my leg was entwined with the metal. I was stuck.

I heard something that sounded like galloping horses, and reins snapping. Axel was coming for us. How did he get here so quick? I scrambled to get out of the vehicle, however; my leg didn't help me. Lucifer reached over me, and yanked my leg out. I lost a lot of skin, and other things I don't want to mention.

Lucifer carried me to the boat, and then ripped part of his white shirt off. I watched as he tied it tightly around my shredded leg. It hurt like hell, and I had a hard time trying not to scream. Lucifer had a brain when he wanted to have one, but his craziness took over sometimes. He started to boat, and spun it around in the opposite direction. I was flung to the other side of the boat, which caused me to scream in pain. I heard him mutter that he was sorry once, but he didn't have the time to pay attention to me.

"I have to get away from him as quick as possible. I will not let you or I help him in any way," Lucifer swore, "especially since he has done nothing for me."

"That's not why you're supposed to help people," I murmured. My voice was barely above a whisper. I was in too much pain.

"Why would I help people?" Lucifer turned to me with a smile.

I smiled back at him, however; I couldn't manage a laugh. Something slammed into the boat hard, and I went flying into Lucifer. He fell on top of me, and the boat went a lot faster then it was before.

"Are you alright?"

"I am, but the boat isn't."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked in a daze. We were struck again before Lucifer could answer. He toppled over me, and fell against a seat. "Is it Axel?" I yelled.

"I'm not sure. It could be Santa Clause," Lucifer called back.

I looked up at him to see him glaring at me sarcastically. I laughed once, and smiled apologetically. I didn't get why he was perfectly sane when something bad was happening. Then when there was no danger he loses his mind again. I had bigger problems to worry about then Lucifer's mind, though.

"Take this gun," Lucifer pulled a gun out of his pants, and handed it to me.

I took it slowly with a weird look on my face. Lucifer then jumped off the boat just as it was rammed again. I screamed at him to come back, but it was too late. He was gone.

The boat was still speeding across the water at a ridiculous speed. I crawled painfully over to it, and pulled myself up. The throttle was broken, which meant that it would never stop going. It would run out of gas eventually, but I might crash before that happens. Lucifer was nowhere to be seen, and it was light out now. At least I could see when the land was coming, and which way I was supposed to go. None of this mattered, though.

I had no idea how to get to Transylvania, not that I wanted to go there anyway. I really just wanted Lucifer to come back to take care of me. I was too injured to fight, and I couldn't even kill to heal myself. I needed someone.

There was the land. It was coming up fast. I turned the boat, so it wouldn't crash into a rocky cliff. I thought that was better than a bunch of buildings and homes. When I was a yard away from the cliff, I jumped out of the boat. Well it was more of a crawling, and then flinging myself over motion. Nonetheless, I was in the water, uninjured besides my leg.

The water made my wounded leg feel better. That way I was able to swim a little bit. It would take me an hour to get to shore, though. I needed to get there faster. I had never tried to fly out of water before. I guess now was a good time to try it.

I focused on what I wanted, and how I was going to obtain it. It took only a few seconds to get my mind in the right place. I flexed my muscles, and then shifted them into an upwards motion. I blasted out of the water with such intensity that the water stung me everywhere. I cried out in pain once, but my mind never stopping thinking about flying. If I stopped at any moment then I would land back in the water.

I landed on a patch of grass. It happened to be under a low bridge, so no one would see me. I wasn't sure if I could make myself get up. I groaned when I rolled over on my side. My leg was now starting to throb.

"Are you alright?" An older woman came out of nowhere.

I cussed under my breath.

I thought no one would see me down here. I was completely covered by the bridge, and yet it didn't work. On top of all that, she was not a bad person that I could tell. In fact, she looked like one of those people who would give you the shirt off their back. I felt really bad for what I was going to do.

"No," I moaned. Then I crawled upwards a little to show my bloody leg. It still had Lucifer's shirt covering it, so it wasn't too gruesome to look at. "I need help," I mouthed with a low moan.

"Oh. Poor thing! Let's get you to the hospital," she cried. She knelt next to me, and tried to pick me up.

I gripped her throat, biting deeply into her neck. She screamed, of course. She got out of my grasp, and then tried to hit me with her purse. She missed, and then took off screaming. I shouldn't have let her get away, but I was too weak. I did consume enough blood to heal myself, but it would take awhile.

I decided it would be best to crawl to a different location. There would be police or at least someone here soon. I didn't get very far. It was hard to drag myself, and keep my leg in the air at the same time.

Some people did appear under the bridge, but it was not the police. They were looking around the area. I was across the beach, and around the corner from a rock wall. If they decided to look around farther, they would find me. I needed to get to a better location.

Someone was thrown onto the beach by one of the waves. The men that were looking for me rushed over to whoever it was. I backed away so I wouldn't be seen. They flipped the man over, and he coughed out water. It was Lucifer. I wanted to go to him, but they were looking for me. I just sat there anxiously, waiting for him to be able to tell where he was.

"Where did you come from?" One of the men asked him.

Lucifer shook his head, and narrowed his eyes at the man. "Who are you?"

"Just relax. You've been through a lot," the other man told him.

"Who am I?" Lucifer asked him.

Was this another one of his mental episodes or was he serious? Lucifer looked like he was serious. I've never seen anyone looks so confused in their life. I had to go to him, but I am going to have to take out more humans. I really didn't want to kill more innocents.

"Why am I so hungry?" Lucifer looked down at himself.

Oh no.

Lucifer got up from the ground slowly, and looked at the sky. "Why do I feel this way?" he growled.

The men stared at him strangely, and then started to back away. Lucifer's eyes grew dark, and his fangs came out. The men screamed and turned to run. He grabbed at one, and broke his neck. Then he drank from him till he was dry. The other man got away. This day wasn't going too well for either of us.

Lucifer looked down at the body of the man. Its head was nearly ripped off his shoulders. He looked like he was going to be sick. His eyes looked down at his bloody hands and shirt. I decided to make my presence known before he took off in fear.

"Hey," I called out groggily.

Lucifer looked up at me in bewilderment. "Stay away from me," he warned, "I am a monster."

"Don't think that way," I whispered. I knew he could hear. "I thought that way at first too. Trust me, you are not a bad person," I smiled at him, "Come over here."

"I – I can't," he stammered.

"Well I definitely can't come to you," I gestured to my leg.

He looked over me for a brief second, and then hesitantly walked towards me. "What do you want?"

"I know who you are," I told him.

"You do?" He said in surprise. "Who am I? How do you know me?"

"Your name is Lucifer. We are friends," I whispered.

"That's an awful name," Lucifer made a face.

I chuckled. "It suits you well. I need you to carry me. I cannot walk," I informed him.

"I will kill you like the other. Do not trust me," Lucifer scowled.

"I am like you. You can not kill one of your own species," I insisted.

"What are we?" Lucifer narrowed his eyes at me.

"You are a vampire, the first vampire to be more exact," I replied.

He looked skeptical at first, but then he seemed to believe me. Lucifer bent over, and picked me up. His eyes gazed over my wet chest, and then down the rest of my body. His lips went into a straight line.

"Is that my shirt on your leg?" He gestured to the large rip in his shirt.

"Yes," I smiled.

"What happened?"

I was lying in the grass, looking up at the sky. It was close to twilight time, so we had started a fire. Luckily, Lucifer remembered how to make one because I was in no shape to do so. He was sitting next to me with a scowl on his face. I wasn't sure what to say to make him feel better. "Do you remember where you live at all?" I asked hopefully.

"No."

"Do you remember Alecia?" I whispered.

"No," he answered, more annoyed this time.

He didn't know why he had lost his memory nor did he remember me. He didn't even know anything about himself. Axel was behind this, but I had no proof. I also had no way to cure Lucifer. I was stuck, but in a different way this time.

"Let's try to get some rest," I suggested.

Lucifer nodded once, and sat down next to me. I was lying there without a single thought in my head. Then it suddenly hit me. It's been an entire day, and no one has called Derrick's phone. Did no one miss me? Out of nowhere, the phone rang twice.

I looked down at the tiny red phone, it was Emilie. It was about time that someone noticed my absence. I picked up the phone, and put it to my ear. I knew I wouldn't have to say anything for a long time.

_"Where the hell are you?" _Emilie uttered. There was some talking in the background, but I couldn't make out what was said.

_"I have been worried sick. And what happened to the car? We can't find it anywhere. How could you do this to me again? I almost went crazy because of this last time. I don't need that mind set again," _Emilie vented.

I waited till she was finished. I wouldn't have gotten a word in otherwise.

_"Xavier said he didn't know anything about what happened to you. He is more upset then I am right now. He said you two got in a fight last night, and you took off. He wishes he would have gone after you now. We haven't told Anna yet because of what happened last time," _she sighed, "_where are you?"_

I finally had an opportunity to talk. Lucifer was looking up at me from the ground, his eyes seemed lost. He was probably trying to remember who he was. I felt bad for him.

"I am fine Emilie," I began. Then I sighed nervously. "I went for a walk last night because Xavier angered me."

"_I already know that part_," she sighed, annoyed.

"I went a long ways; I probably walked for an hour. Then I ran into Lucifer," I explained.

"_Van Nosferatu_?" She asked.

"Yes. He told me to go with him because Axel was there. He was coming for us, and we had to escape."

"_What are you talking about_? Emilie said in confusion. "_Why would he be here_?" She stopped talking suddenly. Then she cleared her throat. "_I guess that would explain a few things_," she muttered.

"Explain what?" I asked curiously.

"_All of the vampires that attacked us this morning_," Emilie groaned.

"He has the vampires on his side," I said through unmoving lips. That wasn't fair at all. "Are you alright? Is everyone—?"

"_We are all fine_," Emilie promised.

Lucifer picked up a rock, and crushed it into sand. He looked up at me, and smiled with a wicked grin. I smiled back at him as I watched him jump into a tree. He landed on the top branch in one jump. It's terrible that he has to learn how to do everything over again, but it could be worse. He could be dead.

"I am not sure of my exact location. I believe that I am close to Crystal Falls, but there is no way that I can be certain. Not at the moment, anyway. I left Rockwell, and we got away from him for now. That's the important thing," I told her.

"_True_," Emilie muttered. "_What am I supposed to tell Xavier_?"

Xavier would want to be with me. He didn't want me to go through all the pain I had ever again. I looked down at my leg. The pain was already starting up again.

"You can tell him where I think I am. Perhaps, we can meet up later, and try to figure out what to do. First, I have to help Lucifer, though," I frowned.

Lucifer had started to get close to the human population. He was flitting and jumping everywhere. I couldn't be on the phone, and watch him at the same time. And I couldn't let humans see what he could do. We had already let them see enough.

"_Why do you have to help him_? _He didn't help us when we had to kill Madena and Olivia for him_. _All he did was give us a tool to do so, and not tell us what to do with it_," Emilie muttered angrily.

"Somehow he lost his memory. I think Axel had something to do with it because Lucifer jumped onto his boat. He did it so I could escape unharmed. Now he doesn't remember anything."

"_I know someone who can cure that_!" Emilie exclaimed.

"Who do you know?"

"_He_ _may object to it, but he probably won't remember who he is. So you would just have to convince the guy to help. You will also have to find something interesting as payment_," Emilie babbled on.

Oh great. "You are talking about his brother aren't you?"

"_Yes_," Emilie chuckled. "_I wouldn't worry about being killed_. _Lucifer is just as old and he can protect you_. _Liam may not be willing to help_. _You need to remind him that he is family, and he needs his help_."

"Thanks," I muttered.

"_I will call you later to make sure you're okay_. _And you are very welcome_," she laughed.

I hung up on her.

"Look at this!" Lucifer called to me.

I looked up to see him swinging on a power line. Then I looked down to see a couple of people taking pictures of him. They laughed and pointed. More and more people were starting to take notice.

That's just great.

I climbed up a tree in seconds, jumped onto a building, and then tackled Lucifer off the power line. When we landed on the ground, I flipped around and broke two of the phones. There, now that takes care of the pictures. They did see us for a brief second, but I moved Lucifer into the trees quick.

"What do you think you are doing?" I snapped.

"Having fun," he said simply.

"You are not supposed to let anyone know you exist!" I snapped. "It is a rule."

"Who made that stupid rule?" Lucifer yelled back at me.

"You did," I replied. I would have laughed if I wasn't so upset at him.

"One more thing that I am going to have to change," he told me, "why did I run this place so terribly?"

"You left it to a family to run. They called themselves the king and queen. Then you wanted me to take them all out," I laughed once. "I guess it wasn't a very good idea."

"Yeah," Lucifer said once. "Where is my palace? I am the ruler of all the vampires, right?"

"Yes you are. You even rule over my kind, and the werewolves," I informed him.

"I thought you said we were the same thing," Lucifer glared at me.

"I am the same thing as you," I argued, "I just have something extra inside me. I am not the only one either." He didn't seem like he wanted to talk to me anymore. Lucifer sat down in the grass. I reached over, and stoked the fire a couple times. I was always exhausted when I was newly turned.

He was not newly turned, but he had no memory of it. It was like basically going back to being a new vampire. It had to be terrifying for him. One minute your under control, and then the next you are killing something. I remembered being confused and afraid of my own abilities. It still happens to me sometimes because I keep gaining new abilities. I wondered when if it was ever going to stop.

That didn't seem very likely.

Lucifer was asleep faster then I ever could be. His light snores were very reassuring. I sat down next to him, and watched the flames dance. The wind knocked the fire back and forth. A few times I thought if was going to spread to the grass below. It never did, but I was kept awake with worry most of the night.

An alarm woke me up early in the morning. I swore I had only been sleeping for an hour. I cussed under my breath, and rolled over. The alarm grew louder and louder. I ended up on top of Lucifer, and that wasn't the best of ideas. He hissed at me, and rolled over into a crouched position.

So that's what I was like to deal with...annoying.

"It's just me. It's okay." I held my hands up with my palms forward.

Lucifer stopped hissing, and retracted his fangs. I relaxed from my still position. The alarm was still ringing through the city. I touched Lucifer's shoulder, and nodded my head towards the sound. He knew that he was supposed to follow me.

The town was completely vacant. Papers were scattered everywhere, cars sat in the middle of the street, and all the streetlights were blinking. Lucifer and I exchanged glances. There was no sign of any life anywhere.

"Is it normally like this?" Lucifer asked.

"No, not at all," I replied. The sky was still a slight red color, yet the clouds were still a vivid white. Things were getting a lot worse around here. Where did everyone go? I walked up to a diner, and looked at a fallen table. Food and drinks were spilled across the concrete. Other tables still had food sitting on them too.

What happened here?

"What happened here?" Lucifer asked, mimicking my own thoughts.

"I have no idea," I whispered.

We walked all over the city. Lucifer and I searched almost every building. Then we searched all of the homes. There was no one in this town. Did they freak out because of the sky? It was like this yesterday, and no one was leaving.

"Maybe we should try another town?"

"We will go back to Rockwell since we have to go there anyway," I sighed. "Hopefully there are people there. We will need blood sometime in the next week."

"I will have to kill again," Lucifer growled, "I didn't want to do it the first time."

"It is always hard the first time. We always...well almost always kill bad people. I have saved many lives by doing it that way," I explained.

"That doesn't make me any less of a monster," Lucifer argued.

"Yes it does. Now we have to go find your brother." I gripped his hand, and led him out of the city.

"I have a brother," he muttered.

It didn't sound like he really cared about it, but I told him anyway. "Yes, his name is Liam. He is your twin brother. He doesn't like you, though. It will be hard to convince him to help us. We need to find something interesting to give him."

"What would be interesting?" He asked in confusion.

"I am not sure, but we are going to find out. Let's take that car," I pointed to a bright red sports car. I had no idea what kind it was, but it looked like it went fast.

"I'll drive," Lucifer pushed past me.

"Do you even remember how to drive?" I challenged.

He shrugged.

"No. You can't drive the car," I told him.

"Why not?" He smiled.

I smiled back at him. He was starting to be his old self again. None of this helped with his memory, though. I jumped into the front seat, and ordered him to sit next to me. There was no way I would trust him with this kind of car.

"I do not trust you," I chuckled. Then I laughed again when he grimaced at me.

"I trust you, you know," he retorted. "I didn't have to believe you when you said you knew me."

He had me there.

"I am very grateful that you trusted me. I will prove to you that I am telling the truth. Your brother will know who you are, and he looks just like you. That's proof enough," I smiled confidently.

"If you think so...," Lucifer didn't believe me.

I started the car, and said nothing more to him. Soon he would see that I've told nothing, but the truth. At least I hoped he would. My mind reminded me of the letter he sent before I went on vacation. Lucifer wanted me to find something for him. I doubted he would know what now, though. I made a mental note to ask him when his brother cured his memory.

We were not as far away as I thought. I was close to Crystal Falls; in fact I was in Rosewood. There were not people there, of course. The whole city was destroyed.

"What happened here?" Lucifer asked like he barely cared at all.

"The town was attacked by my kind, and there was no way I could stop it. Are you hungry?" I didn't want to talk about my mistakes.

"No. Why are you changing the subject so quick?" Lucifer laughed once.

"I really don't want to talk about it," I admitted.

"Everyone makes mistakes," he smiled.

"I almost like you more this way," I told him happily. "You scare me less, and it's easier to talk to you."

"I scare you?" Lucifer smirked.

"Yes, you have before. It was nothing to bad, though." I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. I probably shouldn't have said anything. He might remember this conversation when he gets his memory back.

"How scary was I?" he laughed.

"Just a little bit, like the insane kind of scary. You have the ability to kill me you know," I frowned at that.

"So I could kill you right now, and you couldn't stop me?" Lucifer smiled wickedly.

I was starting to get nervous. It wasn't true that he could kill me all the way. I would get very weak and pass out, though.

"What if I snapped your neck?" He leaned in close to me.

I was driving, so I could not lean away from him very far. Was he scaring me on purpose? Or did he really not have feelings for me anymore? I almost didn't want to take a chance on finding out.

"Knock it off. I don't need anything else to be afraid of!" I snapped.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Lucifer trailed his finger across my face. "I am not trying to do anything."

I smacked his hand away. "Yes you are, and I don't appreciate it!"

Lucifer's eyes got dark as he glowered at me. I leaned away from his suddenly hostile face. Lucifer gripped the wheel so tight that that it broke off a piece. I tried to pull over, but he stopped me.

My neck was gripped in his hand faster then I could blink. I screamed and kicked him away twice. He was a lot stronger then me right now. Lucifer had me pinned against the seat, and the car suddenly went into the air.


	3. The Compass

Ch 3.

The Compass and the Decision

Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring.

Will someone answer the damn phone already? I had a splitting headache.

"Hello?" A man's voice answered the phone. "Yes, he is here...no I am afraid that would be impossible...I don't care who you are!"

The conversation was really hard to follow when you only heard one side.

"He does not remember who you are at the moment. I will have him call you back when he does, goodbye." The man cussed under his breath.

I knew who he was talking about now. Where was I? What happened to me? I tried to move, and my skin burned in response. Where was I last? Think Victoria think! The last thing I could remember was driving to Rockwell.

Then Lucifer attacked me...

The car flipped over. I had lost too much blood, so I became unconscious. I can't believe he drank from me. It couldn't have tasted good. I forced my eyes open, but it was extremely hard. I have never been this weak in my life. What is wrong with me?

I was lying down on a shag carpet. I thought they stopped making those years ago. The ceiling had a mirror on it. I looked terrible. I looked...human. Half of my face was caked in dried blood, and the rest of my body was no different.

"Who was it that wanted me?" Lucifer asked.

I knew his voice, but I couldn't move my head to see where he was. The man responded with a limited answer. His voice sounded very similar to Lucifer's. They both had the very strange ancient accent.

"Just someone from the past," the man chuckled.

"How are you going to help me?" Lucifer sounded like he was tired of waiting.

I looked down at my wrists. They were wrapped with a small silver necklace, and were bleeding all over the carpet. I let out a small moan. It was an accident, but nevertheless it came out. It was too late to take it back now.

"When did you wake up?" Lucifer peered over me.

I wanted to spit in his face, but I was too weak. I looked at his face more closely, and it was slightly different. His hair was tidier and pulled back with gel. It was Liam.

"Why am I tied up?" I demanded.

"Because I need something as payment," Liam replied. "You will due."

Lucifer attacked me to use me as payment. How low could you get? I clamped my teeth together so my fangs wouldn't pop out. I didn't want Liam to know how angry I was. He could end up attacking me, just because he wanted to.

"Good you're quiet. That's how I like them," Liam smiled. It was the coldest smiled I had ever seen.

"Where should we do this?" Lucifer distracted him.

I looked back and forth between them strangely. Liam smiled, and gestured to the back room. That was the room where Xavier was electrocuted. I watched them walk into the room, and then close the door slowly.

When I could no longer hear any sound from them, I craned my neck to look at the clock. It was late in the afternoon. I hadn't been out for too long then. Someone started to scream in the back room. I wondered if Liam strapped Lucifer into the machine. My neck ached when I moved it back to the first position. I needed blood.

My feet were not bound, therefore; I used them to get up. My leg finally healed from yesterday. That was good. A sickening snapping sound echoed through the room. I now knew that one of them was dead. I ran to the fridge, and threw the door open. The fridge door left a large dent in the wall.

My ears perked up when I heard the back door creak open. I rummaged through the fridge till I found what I was looking for. Six bottles of blood were stacked up in the back. They were hidden behind a pack of beer. I was gripped by the throat when I started to chug a bottle.

It didn't hurt at all. I looked up in surprise.

"Are you not going to share with me?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I give you anything?" I retorted.

"Don't be that way. Liam had something I needed, and there was no other way to get in here. I wouldn't have harmed you otherwise," Lucifer told me.

"You—" I started. Then I couldn't think of a way to finish the sentence. "Did you even lose your memory?" Lucifer seemed perfectly fine now.

"I am sorry. It was an act," Lucifer replied.

"I can't believe you would do that to me!" I yelled.

"Do what to whom?" He looked confused.

"Don't talk to me anymore," I muttered, annoyed.

"Okay."

I rolled my eyes. Then I chugged a second bottle of blood. I was able to get the silver necklace off now. It hurt like hell, but it was worth it. My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was caked in blood like the rest of me, yet it still worked.

"_Victoria is that you?" _Xavier uttered before I could even say hello.

"Yes I am here." I told him with a roll of my eyes.

"_I love you_," he said simply.

That caught me off guard. "You...what?"

"_I am so sorry_. _Please tell me where you are_. _I will come get you and we can go home_," Xavier said in rushed words.

I was at a loss of words. It was rare when Xavier apologized after a fight. In fact, it had yet to happen. He really missed me.

"Of course I forgive you, don't be ridiculous. I am at Liam Van Nosferatu's home. I can't wait to see you," I gushed lovingly. I was a pushover.

"_What is the address of that_?" Xavier asked.

"You have been there before, remember?" I turned my head to the side in confusion.

"_Yes, but I cannot remember the exact address_," Xavier mumbled.

"Well I don't remember what the address is. You should go ask Victor, I'm sure he'd," I started to say.

"_Give me the address now_!" Xavier yelled.

His fury surprised me. It took me awhile to recover.

Lucifer took the phone out of my hand, and threw it in the sink. I watched in shock as he flipped the switch that started the garbage disposal. Chunks of plastic and wiring flew everywhere. I couldn't figure out why he had done that. It was like my mind was physically incapable of doing so.

"That was not your husband," Lucifer told me when he saw my confused face.

"Axel was pretending," I whispered. My mind finally rebooted itself.

"Well someone was. I don't know who Axel is," Lucifer narrowed his eyes.

Yes, he never lost his memory. How could someone this mental hide everything? I would be watching him a lot more closely now. I didn't have the tolerance to be able to explain who Axel was again.

"Why did you attack me?" I muttered angrily.

Lucifer looked at me surprised. "I already told you. Or did I? Who are you?"

"I am Victoria," I said in between my teeth.

"Oh yes, that's right," Lucifer smiled. "You're cute when you're mad." He pinched my cheek.

I smacked is hand away. "Knock it off. Why are we here if you didn't lose your memory?" I wondered aloud.

"Liam had something I need," he replied.

"Had?" I said skeptically.

"He is dead now," Lucifer said simply.

"You killed your brother?" I asked in disbelief.

He gave me a disappointed look. "Yes."

"Why?" I exclaimed.

"He has something I need, and I wouldn't have gotten it otherwise. He had to die," Lucifer shrugged.

I shook my head at him. I would never kill a member of my family no matter what happened. I cringed on that last thought. I had killed my sister Katharine. She was changed into a vampire afterwards, but I still caused it. She would have been alive, and with our parents right now if it wasn't for me. Then I tried to kill Derrick, but that didn't really count because we can't die.

"Help me find it!" Lucifer snapped.

I was pulled away from my thoughts for a moment. "What does _it_ look like?"

"_It_ is a map," Lucifer clarified. "One of my workers, Herbert drew it out for me. I need to find it before Axel gets his demonic hands on it. That's why he was asking you where you were."

"You just said you didn't know who Axel was," I yelled at him.

"I don't," Lucifer said in confusion.

I closed my eyes tightly, and breathed out of my mouth. "Okay then Lucifer. How do you know that he wants the map?"

"I don't," he said simply.

"Then why do you want it so bad?" I demanded.

"It is an amazing map. Who wouldn't want it?" Lucifer picked up the fridge, and set it aside.

The map was not there, of course. "Why would a map be behind the fridge?" I glared at him stupidly.

"Why not?" He smiled.

I walked away from him with a roll of my eyes. Something shiny caught my eye, and it was coming from the bookcase. Liam had a million different types of books, and they took up the whole living room. In the middle of a book shelf, sat a book that made no sense. It was titled 'The end of the human line.' None of the other books here had anything to do with the supernatural or death. In between the pages of the book was the shiny object I was looking for.

It was a small silver circle. I traced the outside of it with the tip of my finger. It snapped open as soon as I touched it. I jumped, startled and looked around to make sure no one else saw. Inside of the silver circle was a blood red compass. I turned it to the side as I gazed at it more closely.

The compass didn't look the way normal compasses did. No, it looked like it was from another planet. The arrow in the middle of it was made of light. It too was blood red like the rest of it. Surprisingly, you could tell which direction it was pointing. It was a lighter red then the background.

When I lowered it slightly, the arrow started to spin like crazy. I touched the arrow carefully, and red light exploded from it. I screamed as the forceful winds knocked me onto my knees. I forced my eyes open to look around.

The compass was lying on the floor facing towards me, and a blue light was coming out of it. A map was in front of my eyes, however; it was not your average map. The blue light made an image of a map. I reached out to touch one of the dots on it. It enlarged and told me exactly where it was.

I got paranoid and looked behind me. Lucifer was there, of course. I cringed back from the sudden unexpectedness. It surprised me that he said nothing. I was expecting to get in trouble for not telling him what I had found.

"I think I might have found the map you are looking for," I chuckled nervously.

Lucifer did not respond.

"Please don't be mad at me," I begged. "I was going to tell you, but I wasn't expecting all this." I gestured to the colossal map.

He didn't even blink.

I was starting to get angry. I hated to be ignored. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I pushed him hard in the shoulder. Lucifer was as stiff as a statue. I watched as he fell to the ground in the same exact position.

"Oh my God," I uttered aloud. I bent over to touch him. He felt like he was made out of stone. "What happened to you?"

I looked back to the map. It was moving in a slow circle, which allowed me to see an x. It was very far away from where we were. It was marked in silver, and had a happy face next to it. I couldn't help, but think that's what Lucifer wanted. I needed to know why, but why was he frozen?

I carefully ducked under the map, and reached for the compass. When I closed it, the whole map disappeared with a 'poof.' I held it up and then closed it tightly in my hand. I wasn't sure if I should open it up again.

"Why am I on the floor?" Lucifer asked.

"You fell," I stammered. "I am so glad you're okay!" I rushed over to him, and helped him up. Then I touched his face to see if it still felt like stone.

"What are you doing?" He chuckled.

My hand lid away from his face slowly. I frowned and turned away in embarrassment. I was so happy that he was alright; I didn't mean to show fake feelings for him. That was never a good idea.

"I am just glad that you're not dead," I whispered. I tucked the compass into one of my pockets when Lucifer wasn't looking. When he looked up at me I smiled innocently. "Did you find the map you were looking for?" It wasn't a very good distraction, but it worked nonetheless.

"No," he said angrily. Then he cussed. Lucifer picked himself off the ground, and stomped into the back room.

"What does the map lead to?" I asked curiously. My curiosity always led me somewhere I did not want to go. I never seemed to learn my lesson.

"Why do you ask?" Lucifer leaned against the door.

I glanced at him nervously. "I was just curious," I told him honestly.

Lucifer said nothing for a few minutes. I was starting to feel uneasy, like I wasn't already nervous. He was one of the strangest vampires I've ever met. Sometimes he was friendly and polite, but other times I feared for my life. Who knows how much of the poison had gotten out, or who could have enquired it? Lucifer finally gave me a crooked smile, however; that did not lift my spirits any. My hands clenched into tight fists on my sides while I waited for his next move.

Lucifer stepped towards me slowly. I backed away a few steps, but he did not hesitate at all. "Have you ever heard of the _Devine Blood_?" He smiled.

"No."

"It is very rare, in fact it has never been found. It is the ultimate source of power and life. I intend to make it mine," Lucifer smiled.

"And this map tells you where it is?" I guessed.

"No. It tells you how to get there," Lucifer corrected.

I wasn't seeing a difference. "That's what I said."

Lucifer looked up at me. "I know."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. It was pointless talking to him. He never made any sense. I wondered if the map on the compass was the one he was looking for. If it was, he would have never found it.

"What does the map look like?" I walked into the back room, and leaned against the door.

"I don't know," he replied, "I have never seen it." Lucifer pulled a bookshelf down, and watched the books scatter across the floor. "It's not here. I should have made him tell me where it was. I'll have to wait a month now, and I don't have that kind of time." He sat down in a leather chair, and put his head in his hands.

"I found a compass," I whispered. In retrospect that probably was not the best thing to do, but we were not making any progress. If it is what he was looking for then we could at least move to the next step.

"How nice for you," he muttered.

"No. Look at it. It is not like normal compasses." I held it up into the light, and the silver compass shined.

"I am not looking for a compass Victoria. Or am I?" Lucifer suddenly looked confused. "No. I don't think I need one of those," he nodded to himself. "I don't care about your compass."

Well I tried.

"Sir, did you find the map?" A man's voice said.

I turned to see a lanky looking man. He looked like he was scared to death, but brave at the same time. I didn't know how that was possible. He was bald and wore a bowtie.

"How dare you interrupt me, Herbert?" Lucifer snapped.

Herbert struggled with his bowtie, and tried to make himself look presentable. He also wore suspenders and very high pants. I fought back the urge to laugh at him. That wouldn't be very polite.

"I-I am sorry sir," Herbert stuttered, "but my name is Hugo."

"Whatever, whatever. Give me that paper," Lucifer hissed. He ripped the paper out of Hugo's hand, and walked out of the room.

I heard a few taps at the door. Hugo rushed to go answer it. I followed Lucifer into the back room. His brother, Liam, was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. I couldn't take my eyes off of the blood. I didn't realize how thirsty I had gotten. While leaving the room, I was tackled into the wall and kissed fiercely.

Xavier pulled away from me while breathing roughly. "Don't ever leave me again."

I was surprised by his intensity, but I was more then willing. I gripped the back of his neck, and pulled his face back to mine. I wasn't sure how long I was wrapped around him, but it had to be long enough for someone to see. Someone cleared their throats in a very annoyed way.

"I am sorry," I said quickly. I jumped away from Xavier as fast as I could.

Anna smiled at me. "Don't be embarrassed. We have all been there." She came over to me, and sat on a love seat. Then she patted the spot next to her with a small smile. "Come sit with me."

I sat next to her with a wary look on my face. "What do you want to talk about?"

"You and Xavier," Anna replied.

I frowned, great.

"It's just...well you two haven't been the same since last spring. You know he couldn't help being captured," Anna told me.

I didn't want to talk about this.

"You seem distant. I know he isn't exactly the same either, but you need to give him a chance. When you disappeared yesterday, he went crazy. I thought I was going to have to lock him in a cell." She shook her head, and then looked down at the floor.

"Thanks for the talk," I mumbled. I knew it sounded rude, however; I had more important things to do with my time. Xavier was in the back room with Lucifer, and I had a bad feeling about it. I walked into the room, and almost broke the door with my haste. I was right to worry.

Xavier had Lucifer pushed against the wall and both of their fangs were out. I didn't want to have to kill another immortal again. Lucifer could condemn us to death or worse. Xavier shouldn't act so recklessly.

"Get off of him!" I gripped Xavier's leather jacket, and pushed him away from Lucifer. Lucifer just laughed after he fell to the ground in the progress. I ignored him, and focused my attention on my husband. He was being completely idiotic and careless. That wasn't like him.

"You care more for him then me," Xavier stated after I knelt down next to him.

I gaped at him for a moment. "That's not true!" I gasped. I couldn't think of anything to say after that. My fury spiked up, and I stomped out of the room. It was not a good idea to leave the room without explaining to him about my feelings, but I was too upset.

I walked into the living room to find my family in an argument. That was normal for this family, though. I sat on the loveseat, but Anna was no longer there. She was trying to talk Victor out of something. I wasn't sure what everyone was fighting about.

"I won't allow this family to be put in danger anymore." Anna had finally put her foot down. "We have been through too much. Our children deserve better than this."

"They are long past childhood Anna, and you know this," Victor countered.

"They suffered then too. We were always on the run. Now we always have to save our future. We will never have a normal life!" Anna ran into the bathroom, and slammed the door.

Victor groaned, and sat next to me on the loveseat. I looked at him for a brief second before I focused my gaze on Emilie. She gave me a small smile. I knew it wasn't real. Emilie was watching Amelia and Derrick argue about which car to take.

"Fun aren't they," Emilie commented when I walked towards her.

I smiled at her lack of interest. "Very," I agreed.

"They haven't said why they need a vehicle. Do you know what they are planning?" Emilie asked casually.

When I did not respond she put her hands on her hips and glared at me. "Victoria Eileen Williams! If you know something, you are obligated to share it with your favorite sister!" Emilie glared at me till I spoke.

"I am not sure if that is why they are arguing," I explained myself.

Emilie did not look convinced.

"This is what I know about Lucifer," I leaned towards her ear.

She beamed at me and then drug me out into the front yard. "Spill," Emilie commanded when she put me just in the right spot.

"Axel is after something that is very important to the vampires. Lucifer didn't tell me that, but I assumed so with how much he wanted it." I waited for Emilie's reaction.

"I knew that demon would come back to haunt us. But there is no way to kill him," Emilie sighed. "Even if we get what Axel wants he can kill us, and then take it back."

"You are probably right," I scowled.

"What is it that Axel wants?"

"He said it was _Devine Blood." _I was going to continue, but Emilie's jaw dropped. "What is it?" I asked, confused.

"Don't you know what that is?" Emilie said with a hiss.

"No." I was starting to feel a little worried about this. Lucifer said it had never been found, why did it matter what it was?

"It is a myth, but we thought Axel was a myth too." Emilie looked around to make sure we were alone.

"So you think it is real?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I know it is," Emilie smiled, but it was not a happy smile. "The Devine Blood is the blood that keeps the vampires alive. The location of it is hidden or else we will all die a slow and painful death."

"Even us?" My eyes widened in terror.

"Yes," Emilie said sadly.

"What does that have to do with us?" I demanded.

"The vampires created us. We run on blood too. If their source of blood disappears then we won't have any blood either," Emilie explained in a whisper.

"But we feed from humans, not this Devine Blood stuff," I said in confusion.

"Yes we feed on humans, but the vampires don't. If they have run out of the Devine Blood then yes they will eat a human." Emilie stopped talking.

"They don't eat from humans?"

"Don't get me wrong. Sometimes they do, and we have no problem with sharing. But the vampires have their own source of blood, a source that has always been there for them. It gives them exactly what they need. If that is suddenly taken away they will become desperate. All the humans will be eaten, and we will all die with no food," Emilie frowned.

I looked behind her to see Xavier, who looked between the two of us strangely. "Why are you talking about Devine Blood?"

"I was just telling Victoria a ghost story," Emilie stepped in front of me.

Thank God. I was drawing a blank. Xavier didn't bat an eye at Emilie. I'm sure he knew she was lying.

"Can I talk to my wife alone?" He asked.

I hope he was ready to apologize.

"Of course," Emilie scurried away. She would no doubt be listening in somewhere.

Xavier stepped closer to me. I bit my lip as I fought the urge to step away from him. He was about to speak, but then his eyes narrowed. Then a small hiss escaped his lips.

"What are you doing here?" Xavier demanded.

I was confused at first. I thought he wanted me out of his life. I was very hurt. I was about to tell him off when someone behind me answered.

"I came for you." Aleksander replied.

Oh no.

"Big mistake," Xavier said simply.

Before I could complete a full blink, they were charging. Aleksander changed into a wolf, and lunged at Xavier. I screamed out at them to stop, but as usual, no one listens to me. Xavier flipped around Aleksander, and ripped his arm out of the socket. Aleksander, in wolf form, yipped and turned back into a person.

This did not stop him, though. Aleksander slammed all of his weight into Xavier. I watched as Xavier slid into the house. The house shook from the force, and that caused some hybrids to get curious.

Derrick was the first one out of the house. He stared at the situation for half a second before he leapt into action. Aleksander's entire arm was shattered when he was done. I felt so bad.

"You may be too much for me now, but I will be back. You can't protect her forever." Aleksander ran into the forest with a growl.

"What was that about?" Derrick asked.

"Nothing, go inside," Xavier whispered.

Derrick shrugged and did what he was told.

"He was after me," I said emotionlessly.

"Yes," Xavier said simply. "You told him you killed his family, remember?"

I could tell that he didn't believe it. "You don't think I did?"

"No," he smiled. "You're too soft."

I scoffed, and he laughed loudly. "I'm glad you are in a better mood," I muttered, annoyed.

Xavier's scowled and then hissed again. I thought Aleksander had come back for me. I was wrong.

"Emilie I told you to leave us alone!" Xavier called towards the bushes.

I watched Emilie flit out of the bushes, and into the house. The door slammed loudly behind her. I could hear Anna scolding her, and Derrick's booming laughter. I could even her Emilie start to grind her teeth. I didn't know she did that when she was angry.

"Will we ever be really alone?" I chuckled briefly.

"Come with me." Xavier offered me his hand.

I took it slowly. "Where are we going?"

"For a walk," Xavier smiled.

I smiled back as I walked next to him. The air was clean and fresh. The pavement was still wet from the rain. There was a slight breeze in the air, but I was not cold. I was never cold anymore.

"I am sorry that you had to see that," he whispered.

"I see you fight all the time." I reminded him. He already knew that I had seen him kill a million different things.

"I meant in the house...with Lucifer," Xavier explained.

"Oh."

"I know you are angry with me, and I am sorry. I am not sorry that I did it, though. Lucifer is crafty and cunning," he cussed. "I will not lose you to someone like him!"

"I do not like him in that way Xavier." I touched his face, pulling him closer to me. "I would never leave you for him." I made him a solid promise right there and then. "You can trust me."

"Can I?" Xavier asked skeptically.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I glared at him. My hand dropped from his face, and I crossed my arms.

"I heard you were kidnapped for awhile...with Aleksander," he growled out his name.

He didn't need to say anything more. I knew what he was getting at. "Look, yes I was with Aleksander for a week. But I did absolutely nothing. The things that happened were all on his account."

Xavier had started to look away, but his eyes suddenly snapped back to mine. "What?"

I shouldn't have said anything. Now I had to clear myself out of this mess. "He kissed me. I didn't know it would happen. I wasn't expecting it. I was in shock till I shoved him away."

Xavier just stared at me with wide eyes. I didn't breathe. I waited until he took a sudden intake of breath. Then I watched him turn away from me, and head towards the woods.

"Xavier I'm sorry," I called out to him. Tears ran down my face.

He did not respond to me.

I trudged after him, but something soft touched my arm. I turned to see Emilie. She had still followed us, even after getting yelled at. What about other people's privacy didn't she get? I wanted to smack her upside the head.

"Why do you always have to spy on me?" I demanded.

"Because I knew what was going to happen." She wiped the tears from my eyes with a silk cloth. "Xavier is not mad at you."

I rolled my eyes at her. "What do you call that then?" I gestured to the forest he went into.

"That's the same area that Aleksander went into," Emilie said slowly.

She was hinting at something very obvious, but I couldn't get what for some reason. Then after a few seconds something clicked together in my head. "He is going to kill him," I whispered through unmoving lips.

Emilie nodded with wide eyes.

"I-I have to stop him," I stuttered.

"It's too late. There is nothing you can do," Emilie pulled me back to her. "Stay here with me."

It's my fault Emilie. I can't sit here and do nothing!" I screamed at her.

She let go of my arm, and stepped away from me. Then I ran into the trees before I could let another person die. That whole family was gone because of me, and I would not let the last one suffer the same fate. He was a good person on the inside. Xavier just didn't know so.

"Xavier, please don't do this," I called out into the forest.

Something was moving in the distance, and I knew it was Aleksander. His head was bleeding as was the rest of his body. I ran to him, but that was a mistake. Aleksander charged at me, and bit me in the neck. I screamed out, and threw him over my body.

That was when Xavier came in. I was in too much pain to tell him to stop. He tackled Aleksander, throwing him into a tree. He didn't stop after that, though. Aleksander ended up in a bloody pulp when he did decide to stop. I slowly trudged over to him, but I fell a few times. He caught me when I almost fell a third time.

"What are you doing here?" Xavier said in a disapproving voice.

"I had to stop you," I murmured.

"It's too late," he whispered.

I was staring at his blood soaked blue shirt. Then my eyes went up till they rested on his blood stained face. I knew it was too late. I had killed an entire family. If that wasn't worthy of an electric chair, I don't know what was.

"Tell me something," Xavier murmured.

"What?" I sniffed.

"Why were you and Emilie talking about the Devine Blood?" He watched my reaction carefully.

"Lucifer is looking for it. He wants to find it before Axel does. He told me it has never been found."

"Why hadn't you told me about this before?" Xavier looked down at me angrily.

"There wasn't much time," I admitted. I knew he was upset that I shared this information with Emilie, but not him. I knew what would make him feel better. "I found this odd compass in the house. I didn't tell Emilie about it."

"Let me see it," Xavier commanded.

I handed the small silver compass to him. He looked it over with great detail. I watched as he went to open it. Then I dove down and covered my head. Nothing happened.

I opened it myself and then waited for the same thing to happen. A large explosion filled the forest. I looked up to see the trees, and ground covered in blue powder. The compass didn't do that inside the house.

Xavier was holding the compass, palm out. He did not move, though. I got up from the ground, and dusted the blue powder off me. I touched Xavier's arm, it felt like stone. Xavier had turned into stone like Lucifer had.

Was I the only one who could see the map?

I stepped away from the colossal map, and stared at the glowing x. When I put my finger on the silver x, the map zoomed in. The X was somewhere at the end of the U.S., but I wasn't sure which state. I closed the compass, and watched Xavier come back to life. I _was_ the only one who could see the map. I wonder why that was.

"What happened?" Xavier looked down at me in confusion.

"I am the only one who can see the map," I informed him.

He looked at me skeptically.

"I—" I was cut short.

"You guys need to come with me now!" Emilie appeared out of nowhere.

"What's going on?" Xavier turned to her, surprised.

"I told them what Lucifer wanted, and we need to find it before him. Victor has decided, despite what mother thinks." Emilie took my hand, trying to drag me there.

I took one last look at Aleksander's body. I paid my respects, and whispered 'may he rest in peace.' After all I had done to him, that's the least I could do. We ran out of the woods and away from Aleksander's body as fast as we could. I hoped that no one would ever discover it.

"We don't even know where we are going," Xavier argued.

"Actually—" I interrupted, "the map said it was somewhere in the U.S. If I could find a labeled map I could figure out the exact state." I nodded to myself.

Xavier did not look convinced. "I never saw a map Victoria."

I stopped running, and they both had to turn back to find me. They had run a mile before they noticed I had stopped. Xavier came back looking at me with a grave face. Emilie looked at him warily.

"I didn't make it up," I stated. My brow was furrowed, and I could feel the fury trying to unleash itself.

"Of course you didn't. There must be some logical explanation for this," Emilie said quickly. Then she shot a glare at Xavier. "Let's go tell them that we need to head out," she suggested. We could both tell that it was not a suggestion.

I stomped away from Xavier, and ran on my own trail. I beat the both of them to the house. Anna was in the front yard looking for us. She sighed in relief when we came out of the trees. Her arms went around my shoulders when I approached her.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Xavier was just taking care of an inconvenience," I whispered. Aleksander was dead. Would I ever stop killing? I felt sick to my core. Anna noticed my distance, and put her arms around me again.

"Someday we will be safe, and nothing bad will happen." Anna looked like she wanted to promise me. But she knew that would never happen.

We all knew.

"Mother we are going to another state," Emilie told her as soon as she left the forest.

"Oh my, we will have to get packing. Go tell your father," she commanded Emilie.

"Mom's is being strangely accepting of this," Emilie murmured to me as she passed.

I nodded once in agreement. I didn't bother Xavier with even one glance. So he thought I was crazy. Maybe I was crazy to be in love with someone who didn't love me. I thought about it for a second, and I was crazy. I talked to myself all the time, but not recently. I thought I had gotten rid of _the voice_.

It always seems to return in stressful situations, though.

I knew what I needed to do. I just didn't want to do it. They would all think less of me, and then never trust anything I said. Something in the back of my mind reminded me that they already think less of me. Xavier did anyway. Perhaps they could help, though.

I kept going on and on with this in my mind. It would be stupid to tell them about the voices. Then again, maybe they know how to cure whatever Olivia did to me. They would understand when I tell them it was her doing, right?

I couldn't answer that. I hadn't even known them for a year. How well did I really know my own family? Emilie, on the other hand; I could trust. I would have to work up the courage to tell her my secret. She will either freak out and tell someone, or keep quiet and try to figure out a way to help. I really hoped it was the second one.

"_Yeah right," _I told myself unwillingly.


	4. A Fight for Blood

Ch 4.

A Fight for Blood 

It was dark outside, and very windy. I'm guessing that it was very early in the morning. I yawned a few times, and Xavier chuckled at me. I don't get why he was bipolar all of a sudden. I hadn't slept well the night before, and he knew that.

"See I always get to choose the vehicle," Amelia smiled at Derrick arrogantly.

Derrick rolled his eyes as he went through a variety of weapons.

The sky was a light blue color. It was quite pretty, and definitely was a better color then the red it is during the day. I didn't see a point to changing the sky red. I guess Axel was showing everyone what he was capable of. Emilie was sitting in the back of the SUV staring at the compass I found. I was trying to think of a way to tell her about my mental problem. I wasn't getting anywhere.

I yawned again, and Xavier pulled me against his side. I couldn't help, but smile when he pressed his soft lips against my forehead. I looked up, and kissed him lightly. He did love me, but something was going on with him. I wrapped my fingers in between his, and stood there in content.

"Why are you wearing a jacket?" Xavier touched the hem of my coat, and then put it down.

I didn't answer him for a moment. I was lost in my own thoughts. Lucifer knew we were planning on getting to the blood before him. I don't know how he knew, but he threatened us before he left. I remembered the long night last night as if I were there again.

"Where do you think you are going?" Lucifer grinned wickedly.

"Wherever the wind takes us," Emilie muttered.

Lucifer picked up a small map, and tucked it into his vest. His eyes then darted over the six of us. His assistant, Hugo handed him a stack of papers, and then left the house. Victor nodded to him before he left.

"I was hoping we could work together on this," Lucifer began, "now it seems that I have to stop you."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Victor snapped.

"I think you do my old friend. I think you know exactly what I am talking about. In fact, I think you knew it before I said a word," Lucifer smiled.

"I am not following you," Victor replied.

"Damn. I wasn't following me either. What are we talking about?" Lucifer asked, confused.

"You were going to follow your map," Derrick told him quickly.

"Ah, yes the map. This was a tricky one to find. Thank you for your help dear Victoria. I shall call on you when I need you again." When he was just about to the door, he turned back to glare at us. "Know this, if I catch a scent of any hybrid that will be the end of your time here."

"You won't," Victor said.

Lucifer smiled, and went out the door. When the door closed, I decided to mention the dead body in the other room. Victor went in to investigate, and sighed as soon as he opened the door.

"He will be alive again in twelve hours. We need to bury him somewhere, so he won't interfere with our mission." Victor lifted up the body, and threw it over his shoulder.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused.

"You cannot kill old vampires like these easily. You have to have a certain type of stake, and those are hard to find." Emilie shook her head, while frowning.

"What is it called?" I asked.

"I don't remember," Emilie sighed, "it's been too long."

"We do have one," Amelia said.

"We do?" Emilie asked, surprised.

"It's only for emergencies, and it can only be used one time. I will not use it unless I have to. Don't bother asking to use it either," Amelia growled.

"So we are going to find this blood that no one has ever found?" Anna asked, distracting us. The tone of her voice made the decision sound idiotic.

"Yes."

"Do we even know where we are going?"

"Victoria will tell us," Victor replied.

"How will she do that?"

"With the compass she found," he said simply.

Xavier looked at me skeptically. He still did not believe me about the compass. I didn't care. He could not believe me all he wants. But he will feel foolish when I lead them to the Devine Blood.

"We will take the SUV and then head east," Victor nodded at me.

I nodded back. I had checked the map to see which direction we had to go already. I was still not sure what city it was in, though. That part was kind of tricky.

"We leave early in the morning."

"Victoria." Xavier pulled me away from my thoughts.

"What?"

"Why are you wearing a jacket?" He smiled at my confusion.

"Oh. Emilie told me I had to. It is a little chilly out today, and she didn't want any humans to get suspicious."

"Oh." Xavier let it drop.

"You are supposed to wear one too," I informed him. Then I handed the jacket to him, which Emilie had picked out.

He rolled his eyes. "I think I'll take my chances."

"No, you will not," Emilie walked up, and grabbed the jacket after he tossed it on the ground, "wear it." She shoved it against his chest.

He grimaced as he put the light-weight jacket on. It was very expensive looking; I didn't understand why he didn't want to wear it. An arrow shot past my head, missing it by mere inches. I jumped back as I screamed out. Derrick was across the driveway from me with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry."

Xavier growled at him. I elbowed him in the side, and shook my head when he looked at me. He stopped the growling, but still glared at Derrick menacingly. I didn't want there to be another fight like last spring. That was awful.

Amelia was watching Xavier with wary eyes. She would have attacked Xavier if he went through with his actions. There is no doubt in my mind that Xavier would have won the fight, crippled her somehow to show that he was superior. Maybe he would have taken off her head, which was extremely painful for our kind. It did grow back, but that was also very painful. He had told me that he would have killed Amelia before she could harm me. I did believe him, however; I couldn't believe that he would even think that.

I brushed my fingers on the back of his hand. He looked down at me; anger still glinted in his eyes. I touched the side of his face with my other hand, while I locked my fingers in his. He seemed to sigh, and then wound his arms around my waist. I stepped up to my tippy toes, and kissed him on the cheek. Xavier smiled then, as he pressed his lips softly against mine.

"It was an accident, Xavier. He did say he was sorry, and I wasn't hurt."

Xavier leaned his head against mine with a sigh. "I know that. I've just been having a hard time," he leaned against the side of the SUV, "I'm sorry I've been so unpleasant lately."

"You don't have to apologize. I know you went through a lot in those two months," I frowned.

"Yes I do," he argued, "just let me do this one thing. I left you to go look for the poison, when I didn't even know where it was. It was a stupid and selfish thing to do, and I am sorry. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that without me. I would have killed all of them, if I knew you were kidnapped...and almost sacrificed." His words were coming out rushed now.

"I went after Olivia, thinking I could kill her, and be done with this. I did not expect her to have someone with her...who _liked_ her. He attacked me when Olivia wasn't paying attention, and then took on my appearance. I didn't tell him about you, I swear Victoria; it was like he already knew. As if he could read my mind, and know everything about me. I was held in that strange house for two months, and not once was I able to escape."

"You are out now," I told him. I couldn't stand being in the house for five minutes, let alone two months. No wonder he was in such a bad mood all the time.

"We went to that home because we thought the poison was being stored there. I didn't know that Olivia had given it to a normal family. It was the witches' family, but they were still normal. I was surprised that she trusted them enough."

"Madena was just as evil as her."

"Yes I know," he whispered, "that's another thing."

"What is?"

"I am so sorry that I left you to fight her, and then Olivia. Axel was worse then that, I know. I will never forgive myself for leaving you alone. Never," he repeated to himself.

"I forgive you," I whispered.

"Thank you." The pain never left his eyes.

"How were you caught?" I asked to change the subject.

"I went in the house with one of the others in the group; I think his name was Peter. Olivia was there, expecting me as soon as I got in. She killed Peter instantly. I ran, but I was stopped by Axel. Then he knocked me unconscious." Xavier hung his head, ashamed of himself.

"It's not your fault," I touched his shoulder.

He shrugged away from my touch. "Yes it is."

"No, it's not," I argued.

"I should have been able to protect myself Victoria. I shouldn't have to rely on a woman to save me!"

Oh. This was a pride thing. I flinched away from him, and then frowned. He didn't like that I saved him. That's what his problem has been this whole time. I found myself not wanting to discuss this anymore. Xavier continued, even though I had said nothing more to him.

"I was tortured there, but it wasn't for very long. He did not do it to get any information from me, as you well know. He just did it because he thought it was fun. Nickoli came back to the house, to look for me," Xavier suddenly seemed sad, "he did find me..."

"I know what happened," I whispered.

Xavier nodded sadly.

"How did he do it, though? I don't understand how he made...their bodies look that way." I cringed in disgust when I thought about it. The thought made me forget about my anger towards him.

"He sucked the life out of them."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"It's hard to explain," Xavier ran his fingers through his messy hair. "He took whatever was inside of them, and then sucked it into himself."

Emilie arched an eyebrow. I completely forgot that she was next to us. She was sitting in the SUV, with her feet dangling below her. "That's disturbing," she said.

Xavier snorted. "Try watching it happen."

I grimaced, as did Emilie.

"You know, we technically suck the life out of people," Emilie giggled.

Xavier and I chuckled with her. I could tell that Xavier was still not over what he had experienced, though. I squeezed his hand, and smiled. He gave me a half smile back, but it did not touch his eyes.

Victor came out of the house. We all turned to him, stopping whatever we were doing. Anna was rushing out behind me, a cooler and many bags in her arms. I had completely forgotten about food. It was a good thing she was around.

"I know we will _all_ get hungry later," she laughed, while putting the cooler in the trunk.

"Definitely," I agreed.

"Victoria," Victor muttered, "which way are we supposed to go?"

"Um, hold on." I took out the compass. It exploded, just like the first time I opened it, and there was blue powder all around me. Everyone around me was frozen in time. It was rather funny, now that I knew what was wrong.

I saw the silver X on the map, immediately this time. I reached up and touched it with the tip of my finger. It expanded again, but this time it went a lot farther out. I jumped back when the map exploded out to become bigger. The X on the map was the first of many X's. I groaned when I looked down the long map. I didn't predict that this trip would be this long...

The first X was on the edge of the U.S., very close to the ocean. It was a very small city, but it could have been the map making it seem that way. I touched the X, and watched it expand. A group of words appeared in front of my eyes. They were all jumbled at first, but then rearranged themselves to form a sentence.

_'The higher you are, the closer you will be.'_

It all then disappeared, as it was sucked back into the compass. It snapped shut, and it flew into my hand. I jumped back from it, but it did not harm me. The higher you are, the closer you will be, what the hell did that mean?

"Did you find out?" Someone asked.

I looked around. Everyone was staring at me. "I think so."

"What do you mean you think so?" Amelia glared with her arms folded across her chest.

Xavier stepped towards her with a hiss. Amelia backed away from him, but growled a few times. Emilie gripped his arm until he stepped back. She knew what would happen if he didn't behave. Everyone knew what would happen.

Amelia turned back to hiss at him one more time. Xavier just glared at her. Derrick touched her shoulder, and told her to stop. Victor was ignoring them both, and was waiting for my response. Anna was watching her children with a look of disappointment on her face. I hated how everyone seemed to be fighting lately.

"New York," I stated confidently. It looked like New York to me, anyway.

Victor nodded once, and slid into the driver's seat.

"We haven't been there since our last honeymoon," Anna smiled as she rubbed the top of Victor's head.

"I know." He smiled, but it didn't last long.

Anna went into detail about all their adventures in New York. I had to admit, that seeing the Statue of Liberty was something I've always wanted to do. Anna gushed about the penthouse they stayed in, and all the delicious food she ate.

Emilie patted the seat next to her. I smiled, and scooted across the seat. She handed me a sandwich that she had stolen from the cooler. I chuckled as I took it from her. Emilie already had one of her own.

"I've been starving," she grinned, "I thought you would be too."

"You are right, like always," I smiled.

Emilie started to babble on about something else. I tried to pay attention to her, but I was watching Xavier most of the time. He still seemed so upset and distant. I couldn't believe that it was just because I saved him. He was my husband; of course I would do anything for him.

Derrick had finished talking to Amelia. She was still pissed at Xavier. Why? I had no idea. Tension was still very high with them. I wished they would settle their differences, and behave like they used to.

Derrick jumped into the SUV, and laughed as he fell on me. I chuckled once, and then pushed him off me. He had done it on purpose. The only seats that were left were in the back of the car. Derrick was starting to climb over Emilie and me, when it happened.

Amelia hissed. Her fangs were out, as she leapt onto Xavier's back. My eyes were wide as she bit roughly into his neck. Xavier screamed out in pain, but he reached around and gripped her hair.

She was flipped over him, and then dunked hard onto the ground. Amelia recovered fast, healing in seconds as she gripped his ankle, pulling him onto the ground. Xavier's neck was healed as well, but she bit into it again. There were suddenly bites and scrapes all over his arms and chest.

Xavier gripped her throat, and held her away from him. She snapped at him countless times, almost getting closer to reaching her goal each time. He ripped her shirt all the way off, trying to throw her off him. When he succeeded, Amelia flitted back to him. Xavier had her head gripped, as she had his. All of this happened in a fourth of a second, I was just starting to react. Victor and Anna had just noticed what was happening outside of the car.

"Oh God not again," Emilie sighed. But then she cheered right up. "At least I get to see it this time."

I wanted to scold her for not being worried about them, but I got distracted. The two of them kept holding each other down, trying to prove which one was better. It lasted a few more seconds, before Victor stepped out of the car. Anna was yelling at them from inside the car, but it wasn't doing any good.

"Knock it off. You are family; you never used to behave this way!" Anna yelled.

"It's pointless mom." Emilie said.

Victor tried to get Amelia away from Xavier, but it was a mistake. She bit him, and shoved him into the car. The driver door had a huge dent in the middle of it. Emilie and I couldn't take our eyes off the scene.

Victor was cussing, and trying to stop his neck from bleeding. Amelia was going to regret doing that. Derrick peered around my shoulder, trying to see better. He was excited of all things. Derrick loved a good fight. I hated it. I was afraid that he was going to get hurt.

"Someone stop them," I looked around.

"You really don't want to get into that Victoria," Emilie muttered.

"There is no point really," Derrick agreed.

I pouted, and crossed my arms against my chest. I heard Derrick stifle a laugh. Emilie just smiled at me. Why didn't they take this seriously? Xavier would kill Amelia if he really wanted, and was able to.

I winced as Amelia broke all the bones it Xavier's hand. He cringed in pain, but did not cry out. I would have. With his other hand, he broke her jaw bone in one punch. She did scream out in pain, and that made Derrick get anxious. It was about time that someone was starting to worry.

Xavier was thrown into the trunk of the SUV. It was not closed, though. Xavier bounced off of it, and flew forwards a little bit. The car shook from the impact, and we all shook with it. The cooler fell to the ground, and then spilled open. Blood packets fell across the grass, the kind you would have at a hospital. One of them broke open, spilling blood spatter all around.

All of us in the car smelt in at the same time. And we all became ravenous. Derrick was closest, being in the back. He launched himself outside, trying to get at the blood. Anna had crawled over Emilie, and then me to stop Derrick. She wanted it for herself. Victor did not notice the blood at all; he seemed to be thinking intently about something.

Emilie looked longingly at it, but she did not move from her seat. "Hold your breath," she told me.

I stopped breathing, and everything was fine. I did not have a need to feed, nor did I have the pain in my stomach. I wished Emilie had told me about this a long time ago. They were not very good teachers. ...Unless she had just discovered this herself.

Amelia and Xavier were closest to the blood. They were there before Derrick ever jumped out of the car. Amelia had pulled Xavier's hair back, trying to reach the blood first. Xavier stopped her, and threw her across the field. They wrestled back and forth again. One of them was close to the blood, but then the other stopped them. Derrick reached the blood now, and shoved Anna out of the way.

"Get out of here!" He cussed.

Anna hissed at him. She kept going in for the blood, and eventually got a package. Derrick was furious, and tried to take it back. I was shaking my head as they wrestled for the lone packet of blood. There were ten others just sitting there, why couldn't they get another one?

Amelia growled as she tackled Xavier again. He rolled with her until he was on top of her. There was growling and snarling. They both bit each other a lot. I had lost track of how many times after twenty.

Amelia had suddenly ended up on her back. She didn't look too pleased about this at all. Xavier growled furiously as he gripped her neck. My eyes got wide as I watched him twist his hands. The neck snapped, and Amelia's scream was cut short.

Emilie and I stared in horror. Another snapping sound echoed past me, and her head rolled away from the body. Victor's face masked our own. He could not believe what just happened. I knew Xavier would do that if she hurt me, but Amelia hadn't hurt anyone. All she did was attack him.

"No!" Derrick roared. His growls could be heard for miles.

Xavier was crouched over Amelia, breathing roughly. When he looked up, his eyes met my horror-struck ones. Then he turned to Derrick right before he tackled him. Derrick was full of rage, and dead set on doing the same thing to Xavier. He grabbed his head many times, and failed.

I leapt out of the car, ignoring Emilie's warning. She called after me to come back, but I wasn't listening. I gripped the back of Derrick's head, and tried to fling him away. Derrick saw me coming, and kicked me across the field. I landed on his Cherry Red Ferrari.

The metal buckled underneath me, and the glass shattered. I leapt off the car without hesitating, raised my arm out in front of me, and then smacked Derrick in the face. He tumbled across the driveway, rolling into the next door house. Thank God no one was home. Victor gripped Derrick, and got him to settle down.

Xavier was on the ground, looking at nothing. His breathing still hadn't returned to normal yet. Emilie rushed over to me to make sure I was okay. I brushed her off, and told her I was fine.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes," I said, annoyed.

She got up from the ground, dusted off her knees, and then sat back in the car. Anna was leaning against the car next to her, she was still in shock. Her face was also covered in blood from her meal. Derrick walked over to where Amelia was lying, and then sank onto his knees.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Amelia's head was lying a few feet from her body. I couldn't stop staring at it. It disturbed me. It would grow back soon...painfully. I knew Xavier was capable of something like this, but to see it done is entirely different. I felt sick.

Xavier had gotten up to his feet when Victor walked over to him. He knew he was in for a long one. I didn't think Victor would ever stop yelling after this. Victor surprised me by being completely calm.

"Son, get in the car with your sister."

Xavier nodded once, and took his place next to Emilie. She moved over, and put her arm around him. Anna smoothed his messy hair to the side. I wanted to hear what they were talking about, but I got distracted.

Amelia's old head disintegrated into nothing. I watched it with a shocked expression. Derrick seemed to sigh in relief when this happened. I guess it meant that a new one would grow back. A neck was already starting to grow out of her stub. Nothing else seemed to be growing, though.

"It takes awhile," Victor told Derrick. Then he placed a hand on his shoulder.

Derrick nodded. "I know."

"I'm thinking it would be best if you and Amelia took another car to New York. It's obvious that we have some things to work out as a family. And we cannot work on those things now."

Derrick nodded once. "I will find a car in town...when she's healed."

I got up from the ground, and climbed into the car. Xavier was now self-loafing. I sat in between him and Emilie. She touched my arm, and then gave me a small smile when I looked at her. Xavier looked back at me with pain in his eyes. I touched his face, but he turned away from me.

Anna shut Xavier's door loudly. "Please behave," she whispered to him.

He nodded once.

Anna sat in the passenger side seat with a sigh. "Honey, what is bothering you? You wouldn't normally attack your sister like that."

Xavier just shook his head.

What Anna fails to realize, is that Amelia attacked him. It was not the other way around. I leaned against the seat when I saw Victor coming. I was going to have to listen to lecturing for a long time. Emilie seemed to agree with my assessment. She leaned against the seat, and stared at me with a frown.

Victor sighed when he entered the car, like Anna did. Xavier looked at the floor, he didn't even seem like he cared. Anna reached over and brushed her fingers on his hand. He did not reject her touch, but he didn't notice it either. She frowned.

"Xavier," Victor sighed heavily, for the third time.

"Yes?"

"You didn't have to take it that far. Why did you?" Victor whispered.

"I knew she wouldn't stop, unless I did."

Victor blinked. He hadn't expected his answer. "You were in control again?"

"Yes."

"Why do you do this?" Victor exploded. "You are in control, so then why do never do the responsible thing?"

"I don't know," Xavier said simply.

Xavier was having a hard time dealing with things. His father needed to understand what he went through, and all the things he blamed himself for. He hated that he left me to defend myself, and he hated that I saved him. In his mind, he should have saved himself, and then saved me.

"I don't want this to keep happening Xavier," Victor growled.

"Talk to Amelia then!" Xavier hissed.

This went on and on until we reached Texas, Dallas Texas to be more exact. That was three hours away from us. Emilie had finally had enough, and tried to get my attention. It was a little difficult because I was watching Xavier again.

"Victoria!" Emilie hissed.

"What?" I turned to her suddenly, making her jump.

She punched my arm. "You scared me. I wanted to tell you something else about the Devine Blood."

I leaned towards her, interested. "What?"

"You already know that it has never been seen by anyone, but that isn't exactly true."

"Who has seen it?" I asked with extreme curiosity.

"Lyanardo Van Nosferatu," Emilie smirked.

"Lucifer's father?"

"Yes. He invented it. I don't know how, but he did it all by himself," Emilie told me.

I raised my eyebrows, impressed.

"It is said that the Devine Blood is what gives vampires life, without it they would be corpses, a thing of the past. Lyanardo knew that it had to be protected, but he did not expect it to be from his family."

"What happened?"

"Liam wanted to be the head vampire, to be above his brother. He tortured his father into telling him the location. Lyanardo died, keeping the location safe from the world. He was just a vampire after all. I believe that is how he intended it to be. If anyone ever got into that chamber, it would be the end of our supernatural world," Emilie scowled.

"Where did this map come from then?" I held up the compass.

Emilie pondered for a moment. "Lyanardo hid the location on a map before he died, and I guess it was hidden in that compass. The map is said to only be opened by, (a pure of heart) blood relative. He had given the map to his favorite son, but Liam stole it from Lucifer later on. He did not know its true purpose."

"I am able to open it," I whispered.

"I know." Emilie looked at me with wonder in her eyes. "You must be related to them somehow. I always knew you were pure of heart," she giggled at me.

I did not laugh back. It did not make any sense. How can I be related to them?

Emilie frowned. "Don't think too much about it. We are lucky that one of us get to see the map. We can save the blood now."

"How do the vampires get the blood if they can't get in the chamber?" I wondered aloud.

"Lyanardo installed pipes that lead to a bunch of different places. I can only imagine how many years it took him. There are so many that you wouldn't have a hope of following them. They are similar to a faucet, you switch it on and off," Emilie explained.

"Oh."

"Another thing Xavier," Victor lectured on, "if this happens again you cannot stay with us anymore."

"I understand," Xavier said simply.

My face fell. I should have paid attention to what they were saying. He better have the same thing to say to Amelia too. I didn't want this to be all one sided. I took Xavier's hand in mine, and then watched the clouds go by.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him.

"Yes," he whispered.

I sat up in the seat and crawled to the trunk. Emilie turned around to watch me struggle with the cooler. She laughed a couple times. The fight had caused the cooler to be broken in two. Anna tried to repair it the best she could. She crunched the plastic together and put the contents back in.

For convince, I grabbed the closest thing to the top. It was a sandwich. As I stepped over the seat again, something struck the car. I flew forward, and then fell backwards into the cooler.

Victor cussed and swerved the car back onto the road. I rolled over to the side of the car, the cooler breaking into pieces beneath me. Emilie turned around towards me, offering her hand. I gripped it tightly, but another bump and jolt of the car sent me flying back again. I looked out the back window to the approaching cars. There were three of them, and they were gaining.

The man in the left car was staring at me, his eyes were bright green. I looked at the car to the right of us, and the girl had the same eyes. I couldn't see the third car because it was too far away. I turned to Emilie with wide eyes. "They're Hybrids."


	5. Mist

Ch 5.

Mist

_Emilie_

The car swerved to the left, throwing all of us to the left with it. I cringed when Xavier fell into me. He apologized, and tried to right himself. When he did, we were sent to the other side of the car. I growled, and leaned out the window.

"Damn you hybrids!" I cussed.

Mother pulled me back into the car. "Don't worry me like that."

"I'm sorry," I said at once, "I will not do it again."

Victor turned the wheel roughly, after we were hit a fourth time. "Why are they attacking us? We are their kind!"

"They apparently don't care," Victoria muttered, still clinging to the back seat.

Xavier reached back for her, longing in his eyes. She grabbed his hand, and a small smile spread across her lips. All three cars slammed into the back of us, which tore the trunk door off. Victoria flew backwards, and screamed.

I jumped forward, and gripped the back of her ugly shirt. It felt dry and hard, like it was washed instead of dry cleaned. I pulled her back into the car, but we were hit again. Victoria slipped from my grip a little. Xavier grabbed her leg, and helped me pull her back in.

She was breathing roughly. "Thank you."

I nodded once. "I wouldn't let anything happen to my favorite sister," I smiled.

"Lucifer did this," Victor hissed.

"How do you know?" Anna demanded.

"He doesn't want us to find the blood. He must have told the other hybrids about the blood...now they want it too."

"Why would he be so foolish?" Anna asked to herself.

Victor shrugged. "It's Lucifer."

Lucifer was insane. He could do absolutely anything, and it wouldn't surprise me. I looked down at Victoria. She was lying on the seat, trying to slow her breathing. I didn't know why that happens to us. I think we just get too excited, and our breath comes out fast. We were never tired or out of breath, really.

Victor turned the wheel sharply, slamming into a car that was trying to get past us. The car flipped over sideways, crashing over the bridge. We barely made it to the other side of the road before we went over as well. Xavier was holding Victoria in place as we got thrown from side to side. I flipped my hair back into a ponytail. I was tired of it getting messed up.

"Dad, lose them!" Xavier yelled.

"I'm trying!" He snapped back.

"Are you alright?" Anna looked back at us.

I nodded. "I can't say the same for the dress." My dress was torn up the side, and partly through the middle. I blamed Xavier for falling on me.

The two hybrid cars were slamming into us on either side now. I stayed in the middle next to Victoria. Xavier was pulling out a gun that Derrick had hidden under the seat. It was for hybrids, so that was lucky.

"What do they want?" Victoria asked me.

"They probably want us off the trail," I muttered. "They want the blood for themselves."

"We are the only ones who have the map, though."

"That's it!" Victor exclaimed.

"What's it?" Victoria asked, after she got over being startled.

"They want the map."

"Victoria is the only one who can open the map," I told my father, "they can't use it." It didn't make any sense.

"Maybe they want her too," Xavier growled.

I hadn't thought about that. "You could be right." I looked down at Victoria's face. She had wide eyes, and her mouth was open a little. I bet she was thinking why did everyone want her? I chuckled darkly. It did seem like that.

Victor slammed into one of the cars again. They were trying to get close to knock us off the road. One of the windows broke, and that allowed Xavier to aim the gun more properly. He shot the tire of one of the cars; it exploded and made the vehicle stop. They, however; kept on going. Sparks came from the axel, but they didn't care. Xavier shot at the other one, but he missed.

"Let me try," I suggested.

He looked at me strange, but handed me the weapon anyway. I traded places with him, and then aimed the gun out the window. Xavier scowled at me. I was a better shot, and he knew it. I couldn't help, but laugh as I shot a tire.

"Be careful Em," Victoria said.

"I always am," I turned to wink at her.

Gun fire rang out around the car. I jumped back, startled. I tripped over Victoria, and landed on my mother's lap. All four of the hybrids were firing at the same time. Bullets rattled the sides of the SUV. Victoria got up, and tried to move out of the way. I jumped over her, and got down on the floor.

All the windows in the car shattered. I covered my head, and screamed. It was just an involuntary reaction. I wouldn't be killed, but it would hurt like hell. Xavier grabbed the gun out of my hand, and fired back at them. I sat up to look out the window.

A bullet went past my head, and stuck in the side of the car. I watched it seep into the metal, like it was melting. A gray mist trailed out of the bullet, and then twisted into the sky. All the other bullets did the same thing, but all of the mist didn't come into the car. More shots rang out, and I got a bad feeling. The type of feeling you get when there is death around. I looked back at the cars coming towards us, as they fired out a perfect shot.

A squishing sound echoed through the car. I blinked, and then looked back at the blood covered windows. I touched my forehead. It was not me that was bleeding. I looked to the right of me; there was a large hole in the middle of Victoria's head.

My mouth fell open just as Xavier noticed what happened. Victoria slowly fell back as her eyes shut. I reached out as if to catch her, but Xavier got to her first. Anna looked back to see what was wrong. That was when I realized that I was screaming.

"Victoria's hit!" I screamed over and over. Tears ran out from my eyes, and landed on Victoria's arm.

Victor turned sharply. "Hold on!"

I dug my hand into the seat, and then held Victoria still. He flipped the car around in a giant circle. This happened three times, and it was a very good idea. One of the cars ended up stuck in a gutter. The other one had turned around, and were following us again. Victoria was still unconscious, and her eyes were up in the back of her head.

Anna looked back at me with a worried look. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know," I whispered.

"I can't find the bullet!" Xavier exclaimed.

"What?" Victor looked back for a second.

"It's not in here," he uttered.

"They never go past the bone. Find it!" Victor yelled.

"Move over," I pushed Xavier.

He looked over at me with panic filled eyes.

I felt around her head, and even dug my finger into the wound. A sharp burning pain went through my finger, and then my hand. "Ow."

"What happened?" Xavier asked anxiously.

"It burned me," I replied, and stuck my finger in my mouth.

The wound got larger as mist seemed out of it. Xavier and I backed away from the body. I started to scream again, and Anna came back to help. The mist swept over Victoria's entire body, not stopping until it went through her mouth and nose. The three of us stared in shock.

"What's going on?" Victor asked.

No one answered him. We were afraid to touch Victoria, let alone go near her. Xavier was the first one to do so. He touched her forehead, and said something to her. I didn't hear what he said, but as soon as he touched her she jumped.

Her entire body began to shake, like she was having a seizure. Spit came out of her mouth, and then a small scream almost escaped her lips. Xavier held down her body, and was trying to calm her down. He was too frightened to realize that it only worked when the person was conscious. I started to scream again.

"Someone help her!" I was lost, and had no idea what to do.

The hybrids were closing in on us again. We could not deal with them _and_ Victoria at the same time. A sliver sports car sped up to us. It honked twice, and then rolled down its window.

"Need a hand?" Derrick asked.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Victor replied.

Amelia was the driver. She had her head back. I had to stifle my laughter, though. She had her original red hair and red eyebrows. She looked very strange. I bet she wasn't happy about that. Derrick and Victor seemed to decide something. I watched as Amelia flipped the car around, and made it crash into the hybrid's car.

It still kept following us, no matter what Amelia did. Derrick slid out of the car, and onto the roof. He jumped onto the other car, and then made them crash. They would be fighting for a long time. "Hurry up now, dad!"

Victor picked up the speed, since now was our time to escape. I hoped Lucifer would not be sending any more surprises our way. Something told me that he would. I scowled, and looked down at Victoria's lifeless body. She seemed to be in a coma.

Xavier was holding her hand, and looking down at her with pain in his eyes. I brushed her mess of hair out of her eyes. She seemed to wince a little, so I stopped touching her. Her face was paler then it normally was, but it didn't matter because we were always pale. Xavier looked at me. I looked back with the exact same look of helplessness. Anna went back up into the front seat when she was sure that there was nothing she could do.

"Dad, what can we do?" Xavier begged.

"Let me think Xavier."

I didn't know what to do at all. If we had some blood left, I could try that. Derrick and Anna drank all the blood, though. I looked down at her, and I felt a little sick. I have only known her for close to a year, but I couldn't imagine a life without her. I would find a way to fix this.

Xavier was watching my face. He seemed to know my exact thoughts. But he should. We were brother and sister. He nodded once, and I nodded back. We were on the same thought pattern, which was good.

"Where is the nearest city?" I asked quickly.

"Coming up here pretty soon," he replied.

"Good. I wanted to get some blood for her. Maybe that will help."

Victor nodded once.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Xavier commented.

"I know." I grinned, despite of the situation.

"How?" He looked surprised.

"You already know that I know everything."

"Oh right." He smiled.

"What town are we close to?" Anna asked, looking back at Victoria.

"North Shire," Victor said roughly, probably from the situation.

"Where is that?" I asked.

"I have no idea."

It's always lovely to be lost. I frowned. I looked out the window, and saw nothing of interest. I turned to Xavier, and he was cradling Victoria to his chest. I felt sad for a moment, but then I sent it away. Being sad got you nothing in this life.

The overwhelming feelings brought back a memory I would like to forget. I looked down at my new red phone. There were no messages. I had been calling Dimitri twice a week for the last few months. Not once did he ever call me back.

His entire family was dead now. I guess if he is alive, then he would be extremely depressed. Or he would be looking for his dead brother constantly. He would never find Aleksander. Xavier and I buried him in the vast farmlands near Rosewood. If someone did find his body, they would assume it was from the massacre there.

"We need to hurry," Xavier growled.

"The car won't go any faster."

Xavier chuckled once.

"What is it?" I looked at him strange.

"When we were on our honeymoon," Xavier looked down at Victoria in a loving way, "after you called about being attacked...Victoria was the same way in the car."

"What way?"

"She kept telling me to drive faster. I told her it won't go any faster," he chuckled.

"Oh," I smiled. "When she first changed," I began, "I took her out to a few costume parties."

"Why?" He looked confused.

"I wanted to show her that eating the vampire way could be fun. We dressed up as witches, and attacked the bad people there. I even used blood and fake magic," I snickered.

Xavier grinned. My mother looked back at me appalled. I just smiled at her timidly. Father laughed a couple times.

"You approve of this?" Anna glared at him.

He stopped smiling, and stared ahead at the road.

"That's what I thought."

I smiled, but then looked down at Victoria. Her eyes were moving behind her eyelids like she was having a dream. I wondered what it was about. She was so still that I had to keep telling myself that she was alive. Xavier's face mimicked my own, so I knew he was just as worried.

Finally, father pulled up to a large town. It was close to the size of Crystal Falls. I didn't expect that from a town I've never heard of. What was the name? North Shire? Yes, that was right. I sat up in my seat, and impatiently waited for him to stop the car.

Victor pulled into a vacant parking lot, which was away from everything else. No one would see the torn up car here. "Okay Anna. I need you to stay here with Victoria. Xavier and I are going to get some blood."

"Okay," she said.

"What about me?" I demanded.

"You are going to be the look out," father told me, "keep your mother and sister safe."

They got out of the car, and walked to the west. I scoffed, looking back at my mother. She shrugged. This was not fair.

"Why do always have to stay behind?"

"Probably because you cause more problems then you cure them."

"No one asked you." I folded my arms across my chest, and sighed.

Anna laughed at me. "Emilie if you really want to go...you can go. I can take care of myself and Victoria."

"Thank you!" I exploded.

She jumped back, startled.

I ran out of the car, after making sure that Victoria was comfortable. I didn't take me too long to catch up. It never does, I laughed. Instead of making my presence know, I snuck behind them on different buildings. I didn't want to give them the chance to make me go back. I would not go back.

"Will this even work?" Xavier said between his teeth.

"It won't hurt to try," Victor replied.

"What if it doesn't work?"

Xavier was only a little aggravated on the outside. I could tell that he was hiding something, a deep emotion that he didn't want anyone to see. It was his wife that was in a coma, (so to speak,) and you can't expect him to react to that calmly.

"We will think of something else if that happens, but I am trying to be positive that it will," Victor snapped. "Look on the other side of the block for people."

Xavier nodded once, and then flitted in the direction that he pointed.

There were no people around in this large city. It was very strange, something I have never seen before. All the people were missing, but there were indications that they used to be here. A door slammed to the roof behind me. I snapped my head to the sound.

"Hey!" A man hissed. "Get in here before he catches you." He was waving at me frantically, and looking around.

"Before who catches me?"

"The strange creature that made the sky red, he captures all of us, and no one ever comes back."

This man was a human. I could smell his blood pumping from over here. I thought about eating him for a second, but that would be a dump thing to do. Victoria needed him. I ran towards the man so fast that he wouldn't see. I was an inch away from his neck when I was knocked off the roof.

I landed a block away, with Xavier a few feet ahead of me. I grinned at him sheepishly as he glared at me. Then I got up, and dusted off my torn up dress. I needed to find a new one soon.

"Why are you here?" Xavier demanded.

"That is a good question," I smiled, "but I am afraid that I am a little tied up at the moment to answer."

Xavier narrowed his eyes at me as I ran away.

I jumped back onto the building, looked around, and then crouched into a defensive position. Lucifer was standing across from me. His smile was uncharacteristically evil, and I wanted to leave. But at the same time I didn't want to be a coward.

He had the man I wanted by the neck, the man was closing his eyes, and trying not to cry. I took a step towards him, but Lucifer started to twist his neck. If I came any closer he would snap it. The blood would be useless before I got it to Victoria.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

Xavier jumped onto the building behind me before Lucifer answered. He stopped in the same spot that I did, and came no closer. Lucifer smiled at him as if we were all old friends having a reunion. My hands were tightly clenched, and my fangs came out.

"Stop your pursuit of the blood," he hissed.

"You are the one who wanted help," I retorted.

"I did not. Not with finding it."

"Then why did you come for her?" Xavier interrupted me.

"Who?"

"Victoria," he spat.

Lucifer looked confused for a moment, but then he rearranged his features. I knew that he had a thing for Victoria. If I could tell him that she needed it, then maybe he would let us have the man. Lucifer shook his head, and explained that he had no idea what we were talking about. Xavier was growling by the time he was done. We both knew he was lying.

"Just let us have the man," I begged, "Victoria is hurt...she needs him." I tried to make myself look innocent and afraid. That seemed to work when you beg.

"Why? What is she to me?"

I gawked. He couldn't be serious. He had gone to our home to rescue her from Axel, and he always took her side. He did have feelings for her. What was wrong with him?

"Old friend," Victor stepped onto the roof. He had heard our exchange. "Can we solve this problem like we use to?"

"I don't know Victor," Lucifer hissed, "can we?"

"I would like to."

"I wouldn't." I screamed as he snapped the man's neck. The man screamed too, but it was only for a fourth of a second. Lucifer bowed to us, and then jumped off the roof.

"What now?" Xavier looked at Victor.

Victor was glaring at me. "You were supposed to watch the car."

"Mother told me to go help," I said confidently.

He sighed. "There should be a hospital here somewhere..."

I was off looking for it before he finished his sentence. Xavier ran after me, but never caught up. I was in too much of a hurry. I had promised myself that I would find a way to fix her. It was a difficult promise, but I would try my best to keep it. The rest of the city doesn't have any people here either.

The hospital was more then a mile away. Xavier and I reached it at the same time. He had to have found a short cut. He wouldn't have beaten me otherwise. I broke open the locked door, and stepped inside.

Papers were scattered everywhere, food was lying out, and absolutely no one was there. Axel really cleaned this place out. I wondered why he was taking all of the humans. Probably so we wouldn't have any blood, I thought dryly. And the more I thought about it, the more it seemed most likely.

"A man told me that Axel was capturing all the humans," I told Xavier when he appeared next to me.

He nodded. "I suspected him."

"I was thinking he wanted to get rid of the blood so he could control us," I voiced my theory.

"That sounds about right."

"I've never stolen blood from a hospital before...," I whispered, "where do they keep them?"

"I've actually never been to a blood raid either," he smiled once, but then it dropped into a frown.

Someone crashed in through the window, I was expecting my father, but I was wrong. Lucifer flipped over the glass, and then landed on his feet like a cat. Xavier and I stopped in shock for a brief moment. Lucifer smiled at us, before he ran down the hall. He knew we were here for the blood.

Xavier took off down the hall, in which Lucifer flitted down. I ran down a hall to the side, hoping to trap him. I didn't know where I was going, though. I used my nose to smell the blood, and then my ears to hear where they were going.

Xavier had caught Lucifer, and pinned him into a wall. Lucifer used the weight to break through the wall, and keep running. The scent of blood was closer now, and I was closer then Lucifer. I didn't get why he was against us curing Victoria. It was all very suspicious, and I almost wondered if he wasn't—.

"Look out!" Xavier growled.

Lucifer knocked me into one of the offices. I screamed, and dug my nails into the linoleum. When I stopped sliding, I jumped up, and then ran down the hall. I caught up to Xavier easily, but Lucifer was another thing altogether. His natural speed and old age, made it almost impossible to catch him. But I did.

We rolled into four walls, glass and drywall flew down around us. I turned into a wolf, since that was something he couldn't do. I bit deep into this neck, and ripped a chunk out of him. He screamed, and tried to gouge my eyes out. I bit deeper into him, and then rolled my head from side to side. He lost his grip on my face every time I did that.

Xavier watched us for a second, and then he took off towards the blood. Lucifer noticed that he left, and then he snapped my leg. I howled in pain as I turned back into a vampire. Lucifer was starting to get away, but I gripped his ankle, and then bent it in half. He screamed, dropped onto the floor, and then kicked me in the face with his good leg.

"Hurry Xavier!" I screamed.

Lucifer was limping towards the blood room. I held the damaged part of my face with one hand, while running after him. Lucifer grasped the door with his right hand, but then it suddenly slammed into his face. The door exploded from the large force that swung it, and Lucifer flew backwards into a wall. I found myself giggling hysterically.

"Serves you right," I muttered, and then giggled again.

Lucifer fell to the floor, he looked to be unconscious. I didn't trust looks, though. More than once, it has ended up being just an act. Xavier came out of the room, which Lucifer had just tried to enter. His arms were full of packaged blood, more then I could count. He looked down at Lucifer once, and then back to me.

"Let's get out of here."

I nodded once in agreement. "Okay."

It was easier to find our way out then it was to find the blood. All we had to do was follow the destruction. The walls were knocked out, desks and beds were flipped over, and parts of the hospital were on fire. I had no idea how that was started. Xavier noticed me staring at the fire, and he whispered.

"Lucifer started a few fires to get away from me. I didn't work. I am too fast," he smiled once.

"We've always known you were fast," I chuckled, "too bad you can't beat me, though." I ran through the hallways, jumping over random things.

I heard him laugh really quickly, and then break down a wall. "You are not winning this one."

"We'll see," I laughed back. I turned the corner swiftly, dodged a low bearing wall, which was coming down, and then flew through the front door. I stopped when I got to the parking lot, and laughed. "See. I am the winner."

"I was wondering when you would get here." Xavier was sitting on top of a truck ahead of me, like he had been there waiting for hours.

"What?"

"I thought I was going to have to get a search party here," he snickered.

I gawked at him. How was that even possible? There was no way he could have passed me, and had time to get on the truck. I looked around in confusion.

"You are going to have to face it Emilie. You can't beat the best."

"How?" That was all I could manage to say. I was furious. It wasn't turning into a wolf mad, but just extremely irritated.

"I'm just better," he shrugged, "we already knew that."

"Yeah I'm sure. Why don't you take that blood to your wife," I snapped.

I regretted it.

Xavier's face turned to one of pain. He looked around quickly, and then ran back to the direction of the car. I tried to follow him, but he was too fast. Maybe he did get by me without being noticed.

"Xavier?" I called out a few times. I could hear him running, but it was more like a faint heartbeat. It was like the heartbeat of a hummingbird, similar in the sound anyway.

"Emilie, did you get the blood?" My father came out of nowhere.

I jumped back, a little startled. But then I composed myself quickly. "Yes we did father."

"Good. Meet me back at the SUV."

He was supposed to be there with us. I wonder where he wandered off to. I watched him walk down the road curiously. He suddenly turned around to face me, but he was smiling.

"What is it?"

"Emilie. Do you think you could put some clothes on?" He asked sweetly.

My eyes got wide, as I slowly looked down at my body. I was completely naked. I covered myself quickly, and ran into one of the stores. I could hear him laughing behind me. They would never let me forget this, and he would tell everyone. It happened to be a dress store that I ran to, that was a very lucky break. I took the nicest looked one, along with boots, and put them on.

I looked around for Victor, but he was long gone. I hoped that he was back at the car. It was night before I found the exact spot that the car had been. When I got there, I saw why. They had moved it over to the other side of the street. I never looked over there. I was fuming when I flitted over there.

Victor had Victoria propped up on the ground. Anna was holding her head up at the right angle. Victor had ripped the bag open with his teeth, and was now pouring it in. Some of it fell out at first, but most of it slid down her throat. Xavier was sitting in a grassy spot across the parking lot; a grave expression was on his face.

"Hey," I said as I sat down next to him. I was planning on not saying anything, to make him feel like he didn't have to tell me. I was never the patient type, though. "What's wrong?"

He scowled. "What if this doesn't work?"

"It has to work," I told him confidently.

"But what if it doesn't?"

"It will."

Xavier hissed under his breath, and then I thought I detected a string of profanities. I sighed, and crossed my legs. He was still cussing under his breath. I wasn't sure how to make him feel better. I watched them feed Victoria more bags of blood, wondering if it really would work.

"I can't live with out her." Xavier said out of nowhere.

"She will be fine," I whispered, while putting my hand on his shoulder.

"No Em," he sighed, "I will not survive it if I lose her..."

"Yes you will," I argued, "you have had to survive much worse then this."

Xavier shook his head again. "You don't understand. I have been going through this in my head the whole time. There is nothing else we can do. This is the only option, to _hope _that it works. How do you think _this_ makes me feel?"

I never knew he was _this _attached to her. Being in love is one thing, but not wanting to be alive anymore...I shook my head. I did not understand it. Yes, I loved Victoria too. She was my best friend, and favorite sister. If she perished...I would be sad for years, but someday I would get over it. Did he mean that he would never get over it?

"What do you mean?" I had a feeling I knew what he meant, but I was determined to hear him say it out loud.

His eyes seemed to grow dark. "I know where they are keeping the poison now. I have seen it before. It won't be too hard to get to—" he stopped when he saw my face.

"How can you ever think that?" I exclaimed.

"How can I not?"

I looked over to make sure that Anna didn't hear any of this. She was still helping Victor, and not paying attention to us at all. You would think that we were close enough to hear, though. I turned back to glare at Xavier.

"Do you have any idea what that will do to mother?"

"I can't help it," he whispered.

I shook my head at him. "Don't ever think about this again. I will not lose my brother."

Xavier didn't say anything, and I started to scowl.

"It will happen if I lose her," he told me harshly.

I flinched away from him. Then I got up, and walked over to my parents. They were dumping one last package of blood down Victoria's throat. They looked up at me as I approached them. Both of their faces were grave. It didn't look too good.

"It is working?" I asked hopefully, despite what all my instincts were telling me.

Victor sighed. "It doesn't seem to be."

"But maybe after awhile?"

"If it isn't doing anything now then it isn't going to do anything," he cussed.

I looked back at Xavier. His eyes were so far gone that I had to look away. He looked like the life had just been sucked out of him. I looked down at Victoria's lifeless body, and then back to my parents. They were both looking at Xavier, and they both had the worried look I had.

He walked over to us like a zombie. My mother started to get teary eyed. Oh God, I knew exactly what was going to happen next. Xavier stepped up next to me, and bent over to pick up Victoria. Victor let him have her with ease.

"I'm so sorry honey," Anna began.

I tried to shut her up. I hissed, and told her no. Then I tried to talk to her before she could say anything more. She would not bother with me.

"There isn't anything else we can do. She's pretty much dead," Anna said, "it would be best to bury her now."

I cringed, waiting for the worst. Victor looked at her in shock. He looked like he wanted to scold her. Anna just looked at us in confusion.

Xavier's face went dark, darker then I had ever seen it before. He turned around, and walked away from them. His face looked like it was made from stone. He looked dead...and that was exactly what he wanted to be.


	6. Satan in a Sunday Hat

Ch 6.

Satan in a Sunday Hat

My eyes fluttered open to a bright sunny sky, the brightest sky I have ever seen in my life. I blinked a few times to make sure it was real. My head felt a little strange, as if there were a hole in it, however; I didn't feel anything there. The clouds were hovering above me, but they looked to be more pink then white. I sat up, straining my eyesight closer to them. They were pink...

A bird flew next to me, and landed on my left knee. It was a very pretty bird, however; something seemed off about it. I very slowly reached out to touch it, and to my surprise it didn't fly away. The bird was made out of frosting; it stayed on my fingers when I pulled them away. I was frozen in shock, and then something happened that was even more shocking. The bird spoke to me as if it were a human.

"Hello, hello," it sang in a whiny, twitter voice, "welcome to—" The bird suddenly flew away.

I watched it fly into the poorly made trees, I am serious they looked like they belonged next to a gingerbread house. I walked up to one of the grainy trees, and touched it lightly. The brown coloring of the bark came off onto my skin. I lifted my hand up, and smelled it. It was chocolate!

I licked it off my finger, before putting more on them, and then I needed to stop there. I needed to control myself or I would be eating it all day, and become sick. Chocolate is heroine. I walked around the trees quickly, and then stopped in my tracks. There was a gingerbread house right in the middle of the cluster of trees. It had icing on the roof, gumdrops for the shingles, sugar plum covered window frames, and a pathway made from bottle cap candies. I walked up to the door, took a deep breath, and then knocked.

"Just a minute," a woman called.

I waited patiently by looking around, and really appreciating this amazing place. All the different colored flowers I've been noticing were not really flowers; they were all kinds of lollipops. I plucked one from the woman's garden, and then stuck it in my mouth. The taste was exquisite; it was like nothing I've ever experienced before. I bit it off, chewed it, and then tossed the stick before the woman answered the door.

"Can I help you?" She purred.

I gawked at her for a long moment. "I'm sorry. You looked very familiar to me. "

"Oh." The woman smiled. "Everyone says that. I guess I have one of those faces."

"Are you sure we don't know each other?" I asked to be certain.

"Yes." She grinned at me. Something seemed off about her.

"Okay. I was hoping you could tell me where I am."

"You are safe here. There is no need to know where you are," she looked around nervously, but she never stopped grinning.

"Can you direct me to someone who can help me then?" I asked, annoyed.

"Beyond those trees is a castle. The queen of all lives there," she pointed.

"Thank you," I whispered, "what is your name?"

The woman grinned again, but it did not touch her golden eyes. "I am Madena." She slammed the door in my face before I could say anything more.

"Okay," I mumbled.

"Be wary of the castle," she yelled at me.

When I turned back around, she slammed her front door shut. The name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where I had heard it before. I followed the path that she had pointed to, but it didn't look like it was leading anywhere. I wondered how I got here, what the point was to all this, and where I was before I got here. I couldn't remember.

Lollipop flowers surrounded me, the bushes glowed from the sun, (they were also made from frosting,) and birds twittered around my head. Everything was beautiful and peaceful. But nothing made any sense at all. I knew I was not here before, but I couldn't remember how I got here. I still felt a little strange, like I was having convulsions. Of course that was not happening.

Something warm surrounded my body, and then something touched my forehead with the lightest pressure. I looked around, and nothing was to be seen. No one was there. My pace quickened, and I soon found myself to be running through the trees. My body ached for it to be faster, I didn't know why. I was running as fast as I could.

"Someone help her!" Someone screamed out of nowhere.

I looked back in surprise, which caused me to catch my foot. I tumbled over, and fell down a small hill. I got covered in green frosting, lollipops, and then rolled into a cookie patch. I spit out the crumbs, and ran into a group of trees.

Someone was sobbing. There was no one around, at least not that I could see. I had stopped running, and was leaning against a tree. It sounded like a man, a man who had lost everything. I looked up to the pink clouds, but nothing seemed sad about them. The sobbing sounded like it came from behind them. My eyes widened, and I craned my neck up to see more clearly.

The sun shined from behind the clouds, casting an orange glow behind a group of trees. I watched the sun sparkle on them for a moment. The beauty of it took my breath away. Birds flew away from the trees, and tweeted '_hello_' to me. I walked towards the light without thinking, almost without having one thought in my head.

I walked around a group of trees and bushes to find a beautiful paradise. Gum drops, lollipops, and other candies were as far as the eyes could see. A candy cane meadow was across from a pudding river, but it was the castle that I couldn't take my eyes off of. It was the type of castle that would make all little girls scream out in joy.

The little girl inside of me screamed out, as I ran to its cotton candy gates. That's not a good way to keep people out, I noted. I ate a hole in the gate, and then just 'let' myself in. I knew whoever owned _this_ wouldn't mind.

As I walked up to the castle doors, gingerbread men jumped at my feet. Some were in bowties, but the girls wore dresses and pearls. They were made of frosting, of course.

"Aren't you just the cutest thing," I said to myself as I picked one up.

"Yes." The cookie giggled in a small voice.

It shouldn't have surprised me, after the talking bird and all, but nevertheless it did. I gave the cookie a small hug, and laughed when it hugged me back. It was hard to resist the temptation to eat it, but I did.

"What is your name?" I asked the giggling cookie.

"Ginger," he replied, all bashful.

I laughed a little. I set him down after they all started to jump on me, and tell me their names. I had to run away to get to the castle doors, they would not leave me alone. I think I should have eaten one of them. I knocked on the door three times, and then three times more when I got impatient.

"Hello," a woman said with a prefect voice.

I looked up to see the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. Blonde hair, perfect pale skin, and bright blue eyes complimented her as well. She wore a crown made of silver, and it was in crested in jewels.

"I am Queen Penelope, who might you be?"

"I am Victoria Harper," I smiled, and held out my hand.

She reached out to take my hand with a dazzling smile. It almost took my breath away. She was painfully beautiful; I almost had to look away. Her skin was ten times paler then mine, it seemed to resemble snow.

"It's very nice to meet you Vic—" The queen suddenly stopped talking.

The queen looked ill, and she stumbled a little bit, but she looked fine. Out of nowhere, a large spot of blood soaked the bottom half of her dress. I jumped back as she coughed up blood, and then fell over...

I awoke in my room. Everything was quiet, and it was still dark out. The clock on my dresser read 6:03 A. M. I yawned, and covered my head with the pillow, but I didn't get any more sleep. Katharine burst in, and hit me with my pillow until I acknowledged her existence.

"Mom told me to wake you up for school, so get ready," she giggled, and ran from the room. That was not how Katharine usually acted.

I looked around my dark room. Katharine had left the door open a crack, which made the light leak in. My posters, clothes, and shoes were all in the appropriate places. I didn't know why, but I had the feeling that they didn't use to be there. I tripped over a pair of pants that I had left on the floor, and then fell down.

I got up, stretched, and then put on my bathrobe. It was purple and fuzzy, the type of fuzzy that feels like velvet. I went into my bathroom, and then locked the door behind me, a glare on my face.

"Katharine is not bursting in here on me."

The shower was long, and much needed. My muscles thanked me for it. I stepped out of the shower, while toweling myself dry, and looked into the mirror. I slapped a little makeup on, probably making my eyes too dark, and then brushed my hair till it was straight. I could hear my mother calling me from downstairs; it was strange she never called me for anything.

"Mom, what do you want?" I asked after I got dressed, and walked into the kitchen.

"Hello honey," my mother smiled, "how did you sleep?"

I stared at the elegant woman. She had the same dark hair that curled at the bottom, she still wore the same pearls, and she still looked as if she were going to a ball.

"Are you hungry?" Mother asked. "I made your favorite, bacon, eggs, and chocolate chip pancakes."

"Who are you?'

"Excuse me," mother smiled.

"Victoria is still a little tired, mom." Katharine walked over to the table, and sat down.

"Oh, I gotcha," mother smiled, "well honey just eat what you want, and I can give the rest to the homeless."

I sat down slowly, looking at the both of them strangely. "Did you just get back from Switzerland?" I asked randomly.

Katharine laughed. "You already know that, you were there silly."

I dropped a piece of bacon. "I was what?"

"Finish your food before you are late for school," mother scolded us.

"Where is school?"

They both looked at me in shock. Then mother laughed. "Good one Victoria."

A horn honked outside.

"Oh. Your father is ready to go. Here are your lunches," she handed them to us, "and here are your jackets." Mother kissed me on the head, and then Katharine. "Love you, and have a good day."

I stopped and stared at her.

"What are you doing?" My mother exclaimed. "Get out there! Your father is waiting."

Since when did dad take us to school?

I ran out the door, and hopped into the backseat of my fathers Jaguar. He smiled at me when I got in.

"Are you ready girls?"

"Yes dad," Katharine muttered.

"Are you ready for the Romeo and Juliet quiz?" She asked me.

"I didn't know there was one."

"Victoria," my father muttered, "you need to be more up to date with your homework."

"Sorry dad," I whispered. It felt weird to say this. None of them were acting right. My dad usually never spoke to me...unless I was in trouble, which was quite often with Katharine around. I hated how much trouble she always got me in.

I glared at her until she looked at me.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said coldly.

"Have you been to the church yet Victoria?" Father asked.

"What church?" I asked curiously.

"The church up on the hill, I think it's on the east side of town. Katharine knows the one," he replied.

"What about it?"

"We're here." He announced, and then didn't speak to me further.

Dad dropped us off with a friendly goodbye. He never said anything more about the church or what was going on at it. I thought that it was a dance or something. I could be wrong, though. I waved at my father with a blank expression on my face.

He dropped us off slightly away from school, so I had some time alone with my thoughts. Katharine was listening to music, probably opera. I hated opera. The dream of the magical candy land was one of the best I'd ever had. It was strange that it had to end so dramatic.

I banished the dream to the back of my head, and tried to focus on where I was walking. I had almost run into a preppy looking girl, who glared at me in disgust. I cussed at her under my breath. She didn't hear me, but I wished she had.

"Are you going to ask him out today?" Katharine turned to smile at me.

I flinched away. Whenever she smiled she always did something unpleasant to me. It did not appear that this would happen right now, though. I relaxed from my still position, and looked at her again.

"What?"

"Are you going to ask the new kid out?" She repeated with a laugh.

"Who?" I asked absentmindedly.

"You know who," Katharine pushed my playfully.

"No. I don't know."

"He's over there," she smiled mischievously.

I followed her gaze back to a group of guys, and I had no idea which one she meant. "Which one?"

"The dark haired boy with the gorgeous green eyes," Katharine sighed like she was in love.

"It sounds like you should ask him out," I noted.

"No. You can have him," she insisted.

"Katharine?" I turned to her.

"Yes?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Katharine scoffed. "I am always nice to you Victoria."

"Yeah, um no you're not."

"You're funny," she laughed.

I was about to say something else, but I was distracted by someone jumping on me.

"Hey chicka!" Raya screamed in my ear.

"Hey," I laughed along with her. "How are you?" I was always happy to see my best friend.

A little flicker of something flashed through my mind, it was a small little image of bright green eyes. Raya had answered me back, but I was lost in my own thoughts. Two wolves were running in the trees, one was black, and the other was a light brown. Another flicker popped in there, a frozen lake with two girls skating without shoes, and then the ice breaks...

"Victoria?" Raya was now standing in front of me, a strange expression on her face.

"Yeah?" I muttered, still lost in thought.

"I asked if you had asked that new guy out yet."

"Oh. No I have not."

The memory in my head shifted to one that made even less sense. I was flying through the air, carrying someone. I had no idea who it was. I felt the urge to protect her, though. Then there was an image of blood...lots and lots of blood. I shook my head, and tried to focus on Raya.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Go ask him out!"

"I don't know," I said, unsure.

Raya scowled at me.

I shrugged, and chuckled a few times. "Sorry."

Raya pushed me over to the large group of boys, and then she pointed out the new guy, (after I couldn't find him). "He's right there, make yourself noticeable."

He had beautiful green eyes, a lovely pale face, and dark hair that went up in every direction. There was no reason not to ask him out. I couldn't believe that Katharine let me have dibs on him, let alone that no one else nabbed him up. I looked around for Raya, but she had disappeared, that was just like her.

I took a deep breath, trying to stop my hands from shaking. The boys looked at me like I was a meal. They liked me. And I didn't like it. The boy did not notice my presence, which hurt my feelings a little. I decided to be confident, and I've heard that confidence was key.

I walked up to the boy, making sure that a smile was plastered on my face. "Hello, I am Victoria Harper." I held out my hand.

The boy smiled, it dazzled me. "My name is Xavier," he took my hand in his.

A very large clip played in my head the second our fingers touched, exactly like a movie. It was a lot longer then the previous memories. Roses were everywhere, falling down on me, and I was in a wedding dress. Xavier was standing before me; his smile was more dazzling then in person. His eyes and looks were not right, though. The eyes were bright green, and his features were perfect, not to mention more defined.

The next clip was me in bed with him, many, many times. I blushed, and looked down in embarrassment. Xavier laughed at me, and told me I was cute.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

We were rolling around in bed. My stomach started to get hot, and my face went a deeper shade of red. When the clothes came off, I looked away from him to stop the memory. But it wouldn't go away until it was done.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

I took a breath. "No."

"Good. Do you want to go out tonight?" He smiled.

I didn't even have to ask him out. "Yes," I smiled.

"Great. I'll see you later."

I watched him walk back into the school building. The bell rang, and all the other students had gone to class. I remembered that he couldn't possibly know where I lived. I ran after him immediately.

"I live in that big house that overlooks the beach," I called.

He nodded once.

The beach...I looked back the way I came. It was only a ten minute walk. I longed to feel the sand beneath my feet, and the wind through my hair. Raya gripped my arm in a death grip, and pulled me into the school building.

"You are not skipping class to go to the beach again."

"How did you know?" I snickered.

"I know you. Have you been to the church yet?" She asked casually.

"What church?" I whispered. I was curious to know what my father didn't tell me.

"It's really fun. You need to go sometime. I go every weekend," Raya babbled on and on about it. Not once did she say why it was fun or what they did.

"That's really nice Raya," I muttered. She was not her usual self either. It was starting to worry me a little, just a little.

I sat in my first class, which I luckily shared with Raya. I wouldn't have found it otherwise. The teacher was not in yet, so everyone was gossiping with each other. They were all talking about me, and the new guy. Guys were saying that he could have done better then me; deep inside there was a rage growing. That had never happened to me before.

The girls were mad at me for stealing him from them. They were speaking daggers at me as well. Raya told me to ignore them, but it was hard to do. They raised their voices on purpose as they spoke about me. I cussed in their general direction.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur, teachers taught things I already learned, and kids said things I had already heard. It was like I already graduated, and I wasn't supposed to be here. I practically ran out of the building when the bell rang, the beach here I come. I ignored Katharine yelling at me, and simply kept running until I was standing on the soft, white sand.

A rock wall was to my left; I sat down in front of it, and then leaned my head against it. The smell of the ocean water filled my nose, making me smile. It was like I haven't been here in months, but I knew that couldn't be. I had to have been here a few days ago, at the least.

"What is wrong with everyone?" I whispered to no one.

I kicked off my shoes, and dug my feet into the sand. I then sighed and sat back, watching the clouds move across the sky. They moved slow at first, but then started to speed up. The lights in the house were on, which meant my mother was probably throwing a party. She loved parties, but then again she was not my normal mother anymore. This one actually cared about me.

It was nice. I had always wanted to know what it was like. I smiled, and closed my eyes, remembering all the things she did for me today. Father was most impressive, though. He only talked to me when Katharine blamed me for whatever she did, and it was more yelling then talking. I didn't know him very well, and I was sure that I never would. Things seemed to be different now between us.

The waves crashed against the shore, the birds chirped above me, and the wind blew my hair back. I was home. Katharine found me with my head inclined upwards, sitting on the sand. She didn't say anything to me at first, and for that I was grateful. But when she did speak it surprised me.

"Did you check out the church?"

"No."

"Why not?" She demanded.

"I don't want to," I said simply. What was so great about the church?

"You should," she almost sounded angry, "it's really fun Victoria."

"I got a date with that new guy." I told her for a distraction.

"Is he taking you to the church?"

"No!" I yelled at her, outraged. I walked back up to the house, and slammed the door. My mother hurried into the entryway to see what the matter was.

"What's wrong honey?" She asked.

"Katharine is driving me crazy," I muttered, "I was having a good day too." I hung my head down.

"I'm sorry. Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"The church is serving free dinner's tonight." She looked at me dead serious.

"Oh my God," I uttered. I walked up the stairs, and into my room. I collapsed on the bed, and stayed there till I remembered that I had a date. I got up, and changed into a red dress, (most people say I look better in red).

"Victoria," my mother called, "someone is at the door for you."

I didn't want to talk to my mother, but I didn't want to miss the date either. I ran down stairs, and stopped when I got to the door. Xavier was standing there, a large grin spread across his face. I smiled back at him, as I leaned against the side of the door.

"You look amazing," he told me.

I blushed. "Thank you."

He wore a rock shirt under a suit jacket, and then dark jeans. It was nice to wear for dinner, but wouldn't be acceptable at a wedding or funeral. Not by my parents, anyway.

"I hope you two have a nice time tonight," mother waved to us, "stop by the church if you get a chance."

"Why does everyone want me to go to the church?" I complained, while climbing into the car.

"I don't want you to go," Xavier laughed as he shut my door.

"Thank you," I smiled.

We drove off down the hill faster then I expected, and Xavier didn't seem to care about where he was going. Soon he drove into a parking lot, slammed on the breaks, and flipped the car perfectly in a parking spot. I had to pry my hands off the seat, as I slowly turned to face him. My eyes were wide, and I was paler than a ghost.

"Don't ever do that again."

He smirked. "Sorry."

Xavier opened the door for me, and then held out his hand. I was upset with him, but I put my hand in his, anyway. He led me to the doors of a classic 50s diner, and it was complete with the works. Old fashioned cars were even sitting in the parking lot; thank God Xavier didn't hit any of them. Inside, there were aqua and white colored booths, along with bars and a jukebox.

"Is this okay?" He asked me.

"Perfect," I smiled back. It wasn't a lie. I was glad not to be at an elegant restaurant. I was tired of being rich and proper.

"Great," he kissed my hand. Xavier led me to a booth that was off the side of a large stage.

Behind the stage were a set of wide windows, which showed the famous view of the forest. There were lights in the trees, they almost looked like lanterns, but I didn't think about them much.

"Here you are my lady," Xavier said, while holding out my chair.

I rolled my eyes at the cheesy line, but he didn't see. When I sat down, he pushed it back in, and then took his seat.

The waitress hurried over to us, I thought she liked Xavier, but when she came into the light I saw how old she was. Her hair was starting to grey; she had wrinkles, and hardly any teeth. She wore a pink uniform like the other girls, but hers was much too sloppy.

"What can I get you?" She chewed her gum nosily, and then put her hand on her hip when we didn't answer.

"We'll have the chicken basket," Xavier answered for me with a smile.

"It will be right out," the woman muttered, as she wrote it down on paper.

"She's pleasant," I muttered.

"She has been here a long time. You would act the same way at that age," Xavier commented.

"You could be right about that." I used extra emphasis on the word 'could.' I noticed the tan menu's for the first time, and slapped myself for not thinking of it. "I think I want to split the super shake."

Xavier never answered me.

I looked up at him. "Xavier? You should have told me the menus were here. I could have given that woman an answer faster.

"What?"

"Do you want to split the super shake?" I asked again.

"That sounds fun." Xavier's eyes were lost in thought. I spoke his name a few times, but he never acknowledged me.

"What is it Xavier?" I whispered.

He looked up at me with pain in his eyes, almost like he didn't want to be here. I waited patiently for him to speak, however; he never did. Xavier got up from the table, and then started to walk away.

He turned back to me. "I'll be right back."

He went around a few booths, before heading down a hall with an arrow pointing 'restrooms.' The people in the booths and bar watched Xavier leave, but then their eyes turned to glare at me. What? Did they think I did something to him? I glared at them back, while fighting the urge to flip the bird.

The sloppy waitress brought the chicken baskets to me, forcing me to look away from the glares. She set mine down first, and then stared at me with a blank look. I was a little freaked out at first, but then I found my voice.

"Thank you."

The woman still didn't say anything.

"Am I supposed to pay now?" I asked, confused.

"You are supposed to be at the church."

I gawked at her in disbelief. "What?"

Everyone in the diner was now staring at me. Some of their faces looked angry, but most were emotionless. They all looked like statues. I wanted to push them all down, and run back home.

"Why are you not at the church?" The waitress demanded.

"That is none of your damn business!" I spat. "I don't know what is with you all and the church. I am never going!"

Everyone stood up from the booths so fast that it startled me, and the waitress was wide-eyed. She looked as if I had just cussed her out. I stood up from my booth, and looked around. All the people were closer now, and they all looked pissed.

"I'm leaving." I spun around on my heel.

People stepped in front of me, as a bunch more blocked the front door. I wonder if there is a back door to this place, I thought quickly. My heart started to beat faster, my palms were sweaty, and I almost started to shake. None of this was making any sense.

The people closed in around me, now some of them were smiling wickedly. The stage was the only open area for me to run. I looked around me one more time, making sure that everyone was far enough away. I did not want to be grabbed when I made a run for it.

I took a quick gasp for breath, and then hurled myself onto the stage. My heel got caught on the edge of it, which caused someone to reach my ankle. I was starting to be pulled off the stage, so I growled and kicked the man in the face. His nose was broken, with blood coming down, but I could care less. I ran across the stage, not looking back at my attackers. I was almost to the large windows when they exploded. The glass fell down around me, cutting up my dress and face.

I screamed out in pain, while trying to crawl away. People surrounded me again, as well as the ones that broke the window. I screamed out Xavier's name a few times, and then the people laughed.

"Take this one to the church," the waitress smiled.


	7. Doctor Jack

Ch 7.

Doctor Jack

_Emilie_

"You're so beautiful," he stroked her face for the hundredth time, "my breathtaking bride. "Don't worry about your head. You are still perfect, and I will make it all better."

I was sitting as far away from them as possible, trying to give them some privacy. The glass was mostly gone, so I could sit anywhere I wanted. I suppose that I could have sat in the back seat, however; I was afraid that I would fall out the open trunk.

"I'm so sorry for how I've been acting sweetheart, I swear I will make it up to you when you wakeup," Xavier promised her.

At least someone is positive. Victor and Anna have been negative since it happened. I wasn't exactly positive, but I wasn't the one who said she was going to die either. I glared at my mother. It was her fault that Xavier went off the deep end. He had been talking to Victoria this way for hours now, and he wouldn't speak to anyone else.

"You will wake up, I promise, and everything will be okay." He stroked her in his arms, cradling her to his chest.

If Victoria didn't survive this, then Xavier wouldn't either. I was shocked when he told me this, but I didn't see how deep it went before. If Victoria died, then not only would I lose a sister, but a brother as well. Xavier would find the poison, (by any means necessary,) and then inject himself with it. For all I knew he could already have some hidden away.

"I can't live without you Victoria, you have no idea how much you mean to me. Please snap out of it. I will do whatever you want, just please don't leave me," Xavier begged.

A surge of sadness swept through me. I wanted to comfort my brother. I had never seen him want something so bad in his life. Usually, the only thing we wanted was blood, and sometimes food. It was rare for our kind to love so much. Of course, none of us had ever had the opportunity to lose our mate. Not that we wanted to.

I shivered at the thought of losing him, I couldn't let that happen. I looked over at him. Xavier was trying to hold back tears, and Victoria was just as lifeless as before. My mother was in the front seat crying silently, probably feeling remorseful for what she said. I made no move to comfort her, she _should_ feel bad.

"We're nearing Louisiana," Victor said grimly. He had been down ever since the blood didn't work. I had no idea what was wrong with him. I guess he was worried about Victoria too.

Victor had finally stopped driving like a human, just in time too. He was now at a steady speed between 150 and 160. Anna didn't like it, but she said nothing. She was always adverse to us driving like a vampire. She wanted us to be human more then anything. Now was not the right time for that, though. I would have told her off if she said otherwise.

Yes, I would have been scolded by Victor, but it would have been worth it. Anna had to know that this was a life and death situation, not something that needed to be handled like a human. I folded my arms across my chest, and looked over at Xavier. He was tracing Victoria's lips with one hand, and brushing his fingers through her hair with the other.

"Are you hungry?" He whispered to her.

I watched as he reached into the new cooler, and took a packet of blood out. Xavier opened her mouth, (after kissing her,) and angled her head upwards. The bag was ripped open roughly by his teeth, and then dipped into her mouth. He fed the entire packet to her, while tipping her head up so it would go down.

"Don't over feed her," Victor warned him.

Xavier said nothing, not even acknowledging that his father existed. That was how he was even since North Shire.

"You feel better now don't you," he cooed to her, "let me know if you need anything else."

I would have laughed, but it wasn't funny. Victoria was in a coma, and she couldn't ask for anything. I believe that Xavier was just trying to make himself feel better. I hated that he was going through this. I wish there was someway I could help him.

Something in Victoria's jean pocket got caught in the sunlight. It blinded me for a moment, and I looked down to see what it was. The silver compass was tightly wedged in her pocket; half of it was sticking out. I couldn't grab it without Xavier noticing, and he might not let me get near her. Then Victor will notice, and tell me to leave it alone, or else there would be a punishment later. I stared at the dull, gray carpet, wondering how to proceed with this plan. If he would only listen to me then I could distract him long enough to take the compass...

I turned to him with a smile. I wasn't entirely sure that this would work. "Hey," I said with strong confidence in my voice, "don't worry. She will be just fine, and everything will be back to normal."

Nothing happened. But then his green eyes flickered to my face. He did not say anything, but he nodded once. I was so excited by this that I couldn't shut up, and I'm sure I got annoying.

"We will have a ball when we return, with lots of food, gifts, and everyone that we've ever met. I will find Victoria the most beautiful dress, and you will wear a tux of course. Later, we can go for a run through the forest, and howl at the moon. I can even show you how to be a witch," I giggled. "Victoria loves to hunt in costume, and it's really fun too," I added.

"Will there be a midnight swim in the middle of winter too?" Xavier smirked.

I didn't respond at first. I didn't expect him to say anything at all. He was smiling at me now, all the sadness was gone from his face. It was surprising, but I didn't lose my grin.

Anna was looking back at us; her eyes were red from crying. She looked better now, though. She needed to apologize, but now wasn't the best of times. Anna seemed happy to see Xavier talking again, and who wouldn't be? I was starting to worry that he had completely gone bonkers.

"Yes we might just have a swim too," I laughed.

Xavier looked away from Victoria for once, and I snatched the compass out of her pocket. When he looked back at me, it was already tucked away somewhere in my dress. We both looked down at Victoria, who almost looked like she was smiling up at us. I knew that it was impossible, but maybe she was having a good dream. I smiled at Xavier just as he began to smile at me.

"Darling, where are we going?" Anna asked Victor.

He had never told her about the doctor he knew, nor where he even lived. All he told us was that he might be able to help, and that he needed a 'special' payment. I hadn't liked the sound of that.

"There is a man, a doctor that I met a long time ago. I think he might be able to help. He lives in Louisiana." Victor looked away from Anna's eyes.

"Why have you never mentioned him before?"

"It's complicated."

We all stared at him, confused.

"What is so complicated?" Anna probed after Victor said nothing. "Is he a person you would not like to see again?" She sounded calm, but her eyes shimmered with ancient worry.

"Not particularly," Victor muttered, avoiding all eye contact.

"Why is that?"

"Just drop it!"

I flinched back in surprise. Victor hardly ever did that to Anna. To us, yes he did it all the time. However, this was the very first time that he had done it to her. I sat back in my seat, and glared at him.

"Fine," Anna whispered, and crossed her arms.

Xavier was brushing Victoria's hair, trying to make it look decent. I had no idea where he got the brush from. He brushed her bangs to the side of her face before fanning her dark hair around her shoulders. Xavier still wasn't right in the head. I wished I could think of a way to snap him out of it, or at least make him talk more.

"You are going to meet someone soon," he cooed to her, "and don't worry I will make sure you look presentable. I know how much you hate looking like a monster." Xavier wiped the blood off her face.

"Sweetheart you look just fine, and so does she. You don't need to fuss over her anymore." Anna reached out to touch him.

Xavier didn't acknowledge her presence at all. Anna looked extremely hurt by this, but she put it on herself. Xavier would only speak to me, and only if it was about Victoria. I reached into my purse, determined to make him speak to me again. The maroon lipstick was still in one of the side pockets.

"Do you think she needs a little color?" I held out the lipstick, and smiled at my brother.

His answering smile was very reassuring. I knew he couldn't resist my sisterly ways. I grinned in satisfaction, despite our current situation. I slid the lipstick thickly over her full lips; they parted when I finished the bottom lip.

"Victoria!" Xavier exclaimed. He started to shake her a little when there was no response.

"She is still deep inside somewhere." I placed my hand on his shoulder.

He said nothing.

"Xavier?" I whispered.

"I thought she was coming back to me," he whispered through unmoving lips.

"She will."

"We are almost there son," Victor looked back at him for a second.

Xavier shook his head.

"Sweetie," Anna touched his arm, "I am sorry about what I said. It's not true. This doctor will pull her back into consciousness."

Xavier's eyes went pale. I started to feel a little uneasy. His face went paler, much paler than a vampire. His lifeless eyes locked onto Victoria, and then never looked away.

"How much longer is almost there?" I asked my father, never taking my eyes off my brother.

"We've just passed the Louisiana border," Victor said in between his teeth. He only glanced at me for a half a second before looking away. "It shouldn't be too much longer now. He lives in the closest city...well more of the outskirts of it. The house is in a dark and dingy forest."

I set my back against the side of the car, making sure that Xavier was in my line of sight. He was still staring at Victoria, who was tightly pressed against his chest. I took the compass out of my dress, dusted it off, and looked over it carefully. The silver compass had markings that were almost from another world; they were metallic black, and went out in all directions. I traced over the different shapes with my fingertip, they almost looked like normal earth shapes. I knew that Victoria was the only one who could open the compass, but what if she never woke up? Someone needed to take over for her, someone needed to lead us in the right direction, and that someone would be me.

I was a little afraid that we might be frozen in time forever if I opened it, being since only Victoria could see the map. I traced my red polished nail over the edge, lifting it only slightly. My eyes flickered over to Xavier, and then my parents, making sure no one was watching. They were all focused on other things. I gripped the edge of the compass, and ripped it open. My nails broke off. I cussed, and gripped my finger in pain. My nail was sticking into the compass, and it hadn't moved an inch.

I cussed again, staring down at the compass. It gleamed in the light again, blinding me. It was mocking me that I couldn't see it. I growled, and tried to crush it. It didn't even dent. My mouth dropped for a second, but then snapped shut. Good thing it didn't get crushed or else we wouldn't be able to find the Devine Blood.

"Xavier, will you please talk to me? I am so sorry. Just please tell me you are alright." Anna was begging Xavier.

"Mom, please don't do this right now," I begged her.

"He is my son. Not yours," she snapped.

I rolled my eyes, and looked down at the compass again. Xavier never did take his eyes off of Victoria, nor did he talk to Anna. She talked to him for twenty minutes before giving up. I was going to tell her that it was useless, but I'm sure she didn't want to hear anything from me.

The compass would only open for Victoria, so curing her was our only option. I slipped the compass back into my dress, and waited for my nail to grow back. For the first time in hours I looked out the window. We seemed to be driving in the middle of a forest, but it wasn't beautiful like the ones I was used to. It was dead looking, and full of swamp water.

"He lives here," I muttered in disgust.

"I told you it was dingy." Victor said.

"It's so awful—" I couldn't think of anything else to call it.

"It suits him well," Victor hissed under his breath.

"Is he a really bad person?"

"I wouldn't trust him," he said simply.

I frowned at that. "Should we really be bringing Victoria to this man?" I trusted my father with all my heart, but he didn't seem to trust his own decision.

He looked back at me warily. "I am not sure, but what choice do we have?"

Anna looked like she wanted to argue with him, however; she kept her mouth shut. I was surprised, but I didn't say anything either. I looked out to the swampy forest, cringed in disgust, and stared at my mental brother. He still hadn't moved from his rigid position, and his eyes were locked on _her_. I patted his shoulder, while smiling at him.

"We will have Victoria back soon," I promised him. I knew it was wrong to make promises you can't keep, but we had no option other than to cure Victoria. I looked down at her lifeless body, wondering if there was somehow I could have stopped her from becoming a hybrid all together. No. That was impossible.

"Here we are," Victor whispered.

Anna and I leaned to the side to get a better view. We turned a sharp curve, and after a group of trees passed came a house. It was at one time a white house, as far as I could tell. It was a dull shade of yellow, and in some cases dark brown. We were driving down a narrow dirt road, which had swamp water on either side of it.

The surrounding trees were all dead, and the rest of the plants looked like they belonged at a haunted house. They might be exactly where they belong, though. I glanced at Victor, his face was grave, and he seemed like he was sick.

"Honey, are you alright?" Anna touched his arm.

"I'm fine." His tone ended any further discussion.

"Xavier we are here," I smiled. I brushed his hair out of his eyes, and poked him on the nose.

He paid no attention to me.

I sighed, and turned back to the dingy house. Victor was parked off to the side of the house, right beside the nasty swamp and trees. I frowned when he started to get out of the car. It looked like it had just rained cats and dogs.

The mud was inches deep, the smell was grotesque, (but not as bad as the sewers,) and the air was thick in smoke. The chimney was pumping out thick grey smoke; maybe it was more black then grey. The actual house looked like an old fashioned farm house, the kind that had been abandoned long ago. I stepped out into the mud, and watched my boots sink into it with a grimace.

"Dad, how are we going to pay him?" I asked as soon as I thought of it. "We did not bring much money."

"You let me take care of that," he replied sharply.

I nodded once. The mud got a little deeper as I made my way towards the house, but my boots were long enough to save me from getting dirty. As I approached the stairs, which led to the porch, a feeling of dread came over me. My body felt a little cold for the first time in my life. I felt dead, it felt like death was all around me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Emilie." Victor looked back, and then jumped towards me at the same time.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

"Are you alright? You are going to pieces."

What?

"Emilie. Speak to me!" My father shook me.

"Nothing's wrong with me—" I tried to say. I couldn't make any words come out.

I hadn't noticed that I had fallen until his arms tightened around me. It was not him who was shaking me. My entire body was shaking. I could barely say anything with how rough my body convulsed. Victor set me on the stairs, trying to calm me down. There was no way he could calm me when I didn't even know why I was doing it.

Bright flashes went across my eyes. I thought I was going insane at first, but then a picture started to emerge. It was dark at first, but then everything was clear. It was very late in the night, and I seemed to be in the middle of a city. A horse ran by without a rider, so I knew it was quite awhile ago. A man appeared in the shadows, and he looked to be up to no good.

I followed him, hoping for someone to feed on. He snuck into a random house, or maybe it was a brothel. The women who were standing outside seemed to expect something from him. They did not notice my presence, most likely because I wasn't really there.

The man entered the brothel, looked around quickly, and then headed upstairs before anyone could see. I flitted up the stairs, and into the room he went into. There was a woman on the bed waiting for him. She smiled, and patted the spot next to her generously. I started to back out of the room, but then he drew a knife.

The woman screamed, but he grabbed her throat—. The image was over. I blinked a few times, and tried to right myself. There was something off about this place, and I think my ability to know things was trying to tell me.

"Shh Emilie," Victor whispered, while looking around nervously.

My body had not stopped shaking, and I was started to not be able to breath. I did not need to breathe, but it is still annoying. This was not the time to have an episode. I concentrated on my breathing, while forcing my body to be still. To my surprise, it worked.

"I'm okay dad, I promise." I started to get out of his arms. He let me up willingly, but made sure I had my balance.

"What happened?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"I—" I started to say.

A violent crash came from the car as the cooler went through the front windshield. Victor and I started for a few seconds, and then flitted towards the car. Xavier was screaming as loud as he could, and his growls were just as loud. Anna had her back against the dashboard with her hands over her ears. I didn't understand what was happening at first, my mind was running slowly for a few minutes. Victor was watching them with one eyebrow raised, but he was distracted by the front door opening. I wanted to meet this mysterious doctor, however; I needed to solve this problem.

Xavier had Victoria clutched tightly to his chest, and his deranged screams were all directed at Anna. I hesitantly reached out, and touched his arm. He turned to me sharply, hissed, and then backed to the other side of the car, (with Victoria still in his arms).

"What did you do?" I asked, trying not to sound too judgmental.

"I only wanted to help," Anna said, barely above a whisper.

Her idea of helping always ended up causing more problems. The same type of thing happened a lot when we were little, and Amelia hasn't forgiven her for it. We were in so many fights back then, and now it was starting to happen all over again. How did we stop?

"Xavier." I said loudly.

He looked at me with wide eyes. His screamed now stopped, but he was still growling. "She is mine." Xavier's lips curled over his fangs to let it be known that he meant it.

I rolled my eyes at him. "We are all well aware that she belongs to you. No one is going to take her from you Xavier."

His eyes darted over to Anna, and then a hiss escaped his lips.

So that's what she did. I sighed, and a small growl came out. "Mother, do not touch Victoria again!" I snapped. She had tried to take her away from him. "Please," I amended when she glared at me.

"Sorry." She looked between the two of us before stepping out of the car.

I said nothing to her. My priority is to get my brother to trust me, and then to trust the doctor. It seemed hopeless with the way he stared at me in fury and fear. I sat on the leather seat, scooted closer to Xavier, and then beamed at him. Talking to him about Victoria seemed to work before, so there was no reason not to try again. Besides, how could he not trust his favorite sister?

Xavier looked confused and nervous when I moved towards him. "Stay away," he hissed.

"It's me Xavier," I whispered, holding out my hands, "your sister. I care for Victoria just as much as you do." I flinched slightly...well not quite as much. "I care for her too, it's not quite the same, but I don't want to lose my sister. You need to trust me."

The growling stopped, but he did not say anything.

"We are at the doctor's home," I told him, "he's going to bring Victoria back to you. Do you understand?" I waited patiently for his response.

Xavier's dull eyes seemed to spark a little, and then some green returned to them. The paleness vanished until he was a normal shade of white again, the color he was before was all wrong. I reached out for his hand as a smile spread across my face. He looked down at my hand, and then towards the old farm house.

"Is that him?" He asked.

I looked over to where Xavier gestured with his chin. Anna and Victor were conversing with a man in a dirty lab coat. He had light brown hair, which was cropped in a short style. He had small scars on his neck and part of his face, but all I was focused on were his eyes. They were crazy, like he was paranoid and had a hunger for something unknown. It frightened me.

"I don't see who else it could be," I muttered worriedly.

Xavier only looked at him for a fraction of a second before turning back to me. "I don't want him to touch her."

"Maybe he doesn't have to," I suggested.

He shook his head. "Look at him. How can I trust someone who looks like that?"

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

He hesitated at first. "Yes."

I smiled. I was glad that he seemed to be in his right mind, for the moment anyway. I just wasn't sure how it happened. Maybe it was hope that she could be saved. I touched his shoulder, not sure exactly how to convince him. I had to try, though.

"Why don't you just meet him? It couldn't hurt anything." I glanced at the doctor again, shivered, and then turned away. I was not convincing at all, and I needed to be to win him over.

Xavier frowned, and shook his head. "No."

"There is no other option. This is the only way," I begged. "You have to make the choice. Just meet him!"

"I guess that sounds reasonable," he said after a moment of thought. Then he looked back at the doctor, only to flinch slightly.

I sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry I lost in back there," he whispered.

"Don't be. It was mom's fault." As usual.

He still looked upset.

"Do you want to leave Victoria here, or take her with?" I made sure it was his choice.

"Take her," he whispered, while looking down at her.

"Okay," I agreed.

"You go first."

"Alright," I whispered, and then hopped out of the car.

The mud splattered the bottom of my dress, and covered all of my tights. Great, I thought dryly. Xavier did not laugh at me like he normally would have. He was still not himself. His face was grave as he stalked past me, dead set on the disturbing doctor.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, not really wanting to go any further. My parents and the doctor turned to us when we approached. I did not like his psychotic eyes on me. I wanted to rip them out of his head.

"Thomas, these are my children Emilie, Xavier and Victoria," Victor told the doctor. "Children, this is Doctor Thomas Craig."

Thomas half smiled, (in the way a serial killer would,) and held out his hand. Xavier took it without hesitating, but he made sure none of Victoria touched him. He never said anything to him, and still looked extremely distrusting.

"Call me Jack," Thomas smiled as he shook Xavier's hand. Why?

I just shook my head, and fought against the urge to grimace, which would give my thoughts away. Thomas or Jack stepped down to my level. He was a great deal taller then me, so that wasn't saying much. I took his hand after he turned his head to the side, (he was like an alien trying to figure out what I was).

"Nice to meet you," I smiled to get him to stop examining me.

"Go ahead in," he said, looking around anxiously.

Victor and Anna stepped inside the house, Jack following right behind them. I turned back to Xavier, however; he was gone. I could hear his voice whispering urgently to Victoria inside the car. I flitted to the other side to take him by surprise, and I did.

"You know we don't have any other choice, but to trust him."

Xavier jumped. "I know. What a choice," he muttered sarcastically.

"We'll watch him like a hawk." I was honestly more worried about the payment.

Xavier picked up Victoria, brought her into the house, (after waiting for me to enter,) and kicked the door shut behind him. "I figured it would look like this," he muttered.

It looked like it was back in the 1800s. The dark wooded floors blended in boringly throughout the house. The faded wallpaper was almost the same color of the house; the design was too faded to see. A small fireplace, (which was made for a midget) sat in the middle of the room. It was surrounded by different types of mirrors.

The next room held another fireplace, but it was made of stone. A small rocking chair sat in front of it. The dining room was part of the same area; inside there was only a plain table with a couple chairs. Black and white photos of people not smiling were placed on random walls.

"This place is creepy," I muttered aloud.

"Thank you."

"Gah," I jumped back from Jack's sudden closeness.

My parents were admiring the antiques in the next room, and were doing so very quietly. That was the only reason I was snuck up on. I backed away from him a few steps before speaking. "You startled me."

"Yes," he said.

I stood there with my arms crossed, waiting for an apology. One never came. I glared at him wordlessly. He grinned like a demon. I shuddered, and turned away from him.

Victor still looked uncomfortable, probably because the doctor was a freak. He can't help us. And we don't have any money for it anyway. I turned back, and narrowed my eyes at Jack till he looked at me again. He knew I didn't trust him.

"Where are you from?" I asked rudely.

"London." He answered without hesitation.

"Why the move?" Xavier asked. I had forgotten he was here.

"I needed a change. London got to be very dull," he smirked like he knew something we didn't.

"How long have you been a vampire?" I narrowed my eyes again.

"Since 1888."

"Oh." That explained the house, for the most part. I didn't get why he would want to stay in the past, though. "Can you help my sister or not?" I demanded.

"Emilie." My mother scolded.

I ignored her. "Can you?"

He looked over to Victoria, who was still in Xavier's arms. "Is that her?"

I nodded.

"What happened?"

Victor interrupted me, and took it upon himself to explain. "She was hit in the head with a bullet. Hybrids had been chasing us, and the weapons seemed to be new. Gray mist came from them, and incased her entire body. She has been in a coma-like state ever since."

"Interesting," Jack rubbed his chin. He stepped towards Xavier, to get a closer look.

I shook my head quickly at Xavier, who started to react a little. "He's going to help," I mouthed to him.

Xavier frowned, but did not attack the doctor.

"I have a lab downstairs," he began, "the tools I need are in there...if you could bring her down for me." He walked swiftly out of the room.

We all took off at once, following him down to the basement. I knew my instincts were telling me not to make myself trapped in a basement. All I could think about though was getting my sister back. I stayed right behind my mother, and next to Xavier. The stairs were narrow, but we both fit somehow.

The downstairs was nothing like the rest of the home. Pretty tile flooring, large flat screen TVs, and maroon furnishings made up the living room. His actual lab had every type of technology you could imagine. I walked past all the machines and chemicals in amazement.

Jack led us to a small machine. It was shaped like and old fashioned, round lamp. The inside had a swirling vortex of mist inside it. Part of me wondered if it was the same mist that was inside my sister. It probably was, I decided.

"What is this?" Anna asked.

"My newest invention," Jack beamed.

"What does it do?" I asked.

"Never mind that right now. I need to have a word here with your father. No one touch anything," he growled.

Anna watched them go with a look of uncertainty on her face. "Should I go with?" She asked herself.

"No," Xavier and I said at the same time.

Anna and I looked at Xavier with surprise. I did not expect him to speak to her so soon. Apparently, neither did she. Anna smiled, and touched his arm gently. Then they both were in a sudden embrace. I was glad that they had finally worked things out.

"I don't trust this machine." I whispered, and then touched the side of it. It lit up a bright white, and then dimmed when I pulled away.

"You said it yourself, there is no other choice," Xavier reminded me.

I sighed. "I know. I just want my sister back, but I don't want her to end up permanently dead."

Xavier flinched on that last word. I immediately regretted saying it. "I'm sorry." I touched his shoulder.

He shook my hand off. "She is not going to die," he growled.

"Sorry." I said again, and backed out of the room. I heard him mutter something after me, but I didn't stay to listen. I wandered into the living room again, and then down a random hall. This hall was filled with brightly colored photos. I glanced at each one a few times as I continued to walk. A door was opened a crack at the end of the hall, I paused before going past.

"Listen to me," Jack said angrily, "I know you know who I really am. I do not care if you expose me. It's been over a hundred years, and most of the other vampires don't care about these things."

"I guess there is no way around this then," Victor muttered.

"I'm afraid not. Either you do this or she dies."

"Okay."

What had my father agreed to? I started to grow anxious as I waited for them to say more. They said nothing. I sighed, and walked towards the door. Jack stepped out, right when I was about to touch the knob.

"Oh," he started. "Miss Emilie. Do excuse me; I have some work to be doing." He smirked at me, as he headed towards the lab.

I watched after him with a look of confusion on my face. I walked into the room, but Victor was no longer there. I ran up the stairs calling for him. I found him outside, looking around the vehicle for weapons.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"Go inside and help your mother," Victor snapped.

"No. Where are you going? What did he tell you to do?" I demanded. "You can't leave us."

"Do you want your sister to die?"

I staggered back. "No."

"Then get inside Emilie, and don't say anything to anyone, I mean it." He flipped a bag over his shoulder, and ran down the dirt road.

"Please—" I choked out, but he was already gone.

"Lay her on the table, here." Jack brought out an operating table.

I sniffed once, still upset about our father abandoning us. "Are you going to operate of her?"

"Where is Victor?" Anna asked, looking around.

"I don't know," I whispered. It wasn't entirely a lie. He never told me where he was going, or for what purpose.

"What are you going to do?" Xavier asked, paranoid.

"Those new weapons are very deadly to your kind. She is not going to live much longer. I have to get it out of her before it fries her brain," Jack replied, not worried at all.

Xavier's eyes got wide. He seemed to be frozen. Anna sat on a bar stool that was far away from the machine. I assumed that she didn't want to be in the way. I touched Xavier's arm, and made him back away a few steps with me.

Jack turned on the machine by pressing a laser print scanner on the side of it. It lit up with the same white glow again, and it hummed like a car's engine. The mist inside of it changed different colors, and then different shapes. I stared at the machine so long I hadn't noticed that the doctor was connecting Victoria to it.

"This will take it out of her?" I asked, making sure.

"This will put more in."

"What?" The three of us gasped all together.

Jack laughed.

Xavier's fangs came out. He gripped the doctor by the throat. The doctor laughed again, but shoved Xavier away. This only made him angrier.

"I invented the mist. Lucifer stole the formula from me, and is using it for his own purposes," Jack hissed. "But I am the only one who really knows how it works."

"So instead of helping us you are going to make her worse," Xavier growled furiously.

"I have this tank filled with a different kind of mist. The anti-mist if you will. I haven't figured out a name for it yet, but in time I will. It will go through her body, causing the poisonous mist to be pushed out. Now if you don't mind I have to get to work, you are killing her." Jack smiled sweetly.

Xavier backed away, after tucking his fangs in. Anna had her hand on my shoulder, and was nervously biting the nails on her other hand. I hadn't noticed that she left the bar stool. We all backed away another few steps when the lights above us flickered.

Jack put tubes in Victoria's mouth, nose, and ears. I watched curiously as he flicked a yellow switch to the on position. Victoria's body arched, higher then I thought was possible for our kind. I thought her back was going to snap in half.

Anna gripped my shoulder tighter. "Is she in pain?"

"Not yet," Jack replied.

Xavier's hands were balled up into tight fists. You could see the tendons sticking out of them. I touched his arm to comfort him, but he brushed my hand off. He was in pain watching this. I should have told him to go to another room. He probably wouldn't have listened to me, though.

Victoria's eyes went open wide, but there was no color to them. They were all completely gray. I stared at her in horror. Her mouth made an 'O' shape, as the gray mist flowed through the tube. The other tubes soon all turned grey as well.

Jack put more tubes in the same places, but these ones were purple. It was the anti-mist that he was putting in now. The gray started to leak from her eyes, it was the most disturbing image I had ever seen. Her eyes were white now, but they still had nothing else there.

Her body started to shake, shake worse then it did when she was shot. The tubes were starting to fall out. It occurred to me that the mist was doing this on purpose, to stay inside of her. Anna gripped my shoulder tighter; I would have a large bruise when this was over. I knew she couldn't help it, though. Victoria actually started to scream, it sounded like she was giving birth.

"Hold her down!" Jack yelled at us.

I grabbed Victoria's legs, as Xavier grabbed her shoulders. We held her down as hard as we could. The shaking stopped right away, and Jack fixed the tubes. We were lying across Victoria, holding her down until all the gray seemed to be gone. She screamed once last time, but it was weak, and hardly able to be heard.

Jack filled a syringe up with some type of clear liquid. "This should take care of the pain," he murmured. I watched him stick it into her neck.

"Is she better now?" Anna asked.

"She needs some blood, but the mist is gone. I don't know when she will wake up. It could be a couple minutes, hours, or even days." He shrugged, uncaring.

"Days?" I repeated. "What if she doesn't wake up at all?"

"She will," he said confidently.

"What do we owe you?" Anna asked, taking out her cash.

"That's already been taken care of," Jack smiled wickedly. "Feel free to leave anytime you want." He skipped out of the room.

Xavier was standing over Victoria, tracing the side of her face with the tip of his finger. I stood beside him, and wrapped my arms around his waist. He put one arm over my shoulder, and kissed me on top of my head. We stood there like that for a long time, wondering when she would awake.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"Being there for me," he smiled.

"You're welcome. What are sisters for?" I grinned.

Victoria's eyes started to twitch. We both leaned in close to her, I moved to the other side, so I wouldn't be in the way. Her fingers moved a little, but not enough to tell anything. I opened one eye. They were bright green.

"Victoria?"


	8. Wide Awake

Ch 8.

Wide Awake

I couldn't stop screaming. I tried to close my mouth, but more screams kept coming and coming. The townspeople had tied me up, (after I tried to escape many times,) and they were now carrying me to a small church. This is not why I was screaming, though.

It felt like someone was sucking away my will to live. It also felt like something was inside of me, trying to claw away my innards. I screamed again when it felt like my brain had burst into flames. I wondered if smoke was coming out of my ears. I kicked a woman below me, who had looked up to laugh at my expense. Her eyes turned red, and she growled at me in a demonic voice.

"You will pay for that."

"I already am," I moaned. Then I kicked her again.

The woman tried to attack me; she gripped my ankle, and tossed me to the ground. When her fist was about to come down, a man gripped her neck and snapped it. She turned into a bunch of dark mist, and then disappeared into the air. My eyes widened and my mouth fell open. The man closed my mouth, threw me over his shoulder, and then continued to walk.

My family and friends were waiting for me in front of the church, like they were attending my funeral.

"How can you do this to me?" I screamed at them. They were all dressed in black, and all in smiles. Raya nodded once to me. I growled at her, which was an odd thing to do. I didn't know why I did it.

I didn't want to go like this. I dug my nails into the flesh of the man's neck, and twisted my fingers. The man threw me out of his arms, after smoke leaked out from his wound. It went slowly up into the air, and then disappeared.

Another group of people picked me up, while the man cussed and tried to hold the smoke in. Somewhere in the back of my mind, it registered that people did not smoke, figuratively speaking. People were not made of smoke. I was too busy cringing in pain, fighting away the people, and screaming my head off to notice anything.

My parents opened the doors to the church with a big smile on their faces. "You will not regret this decision, darling," my father told me.

"I will only hurt a little," my mother encouraged me.

It was not encouraging at all.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I demanded.

Mother looked surprised. "Why wouldn't I?"

I stared at her in disbelief.

"We've been planning this since your birth."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Sure you do sweetheart," my father cooed. "You are one of the chosen ones."

I shook my head in disbelief.

"You have to be killed honey. It's what has to be done. We humans don't want to end up slaves one day. We all know what you have planned for us in the future." My mother gave me a dark look.

"You are all insane!" I shouted, struggling against the people carrying me again.

"We know exactly what needs to be done Victoria," Raya muttered. "You can't talk your way out of this."

"So you are just going to kill me because of everyone's insanity!" I screamed at her.

"Yep," she smiled, "it's for the benefit of us all."

"You are my best friend, Raya," I pleaded, while being drug into the church.

"Not anymore. I could never be friends with someone like you."

I stared at her in a daze. I no longer stopped the people carrying me. My feet stopped digging into the ground, and the pain seemed to diminish a little. I was led through the doors of the church, expecting to see darkness, but it was engulfed in flames. Some of the people inside were already dead, and that had the ones outside in a panic.

I was dropped to the ground, as they fled from as explosion of flames. My head smacked against the concrete, which made everything blurry for awhile. Someone helped me up into a sitting position, and then touched the side of my bruised head.

"Are you alright Victoria?" Xavier hissed under his breath.

I was still a little out of it. I couldn't answer him. He started to shake me violently. I was grateful for his rescue, but he didn't have to treat me this way. I pushed him off me, trying to right myself.

"What are you trying to do to me?" I gasped.

He backed away with a peculiar look on his face. He then grew pale, much paler then the whitest person I had ever seen. His eyes seemed to change to a shade of bright green. My eyes went wide, as I backed away from him. Everything was beautiful about him now; he was almost perfect...except for the messy hair. He smiled brightly at me, flashing a perfect set of teeth. The sharp teeth at the front of his mouth triggered something in my mind.

It was all flashes at first, just like before, but then it grew. Myself at the beach turned to me being chased by wolves. For some strange reason, I knew they were not just wolves. I blinked, and then I was with my sister, but it was not Katharine. She had the same glowing green eyes from my previous memories.

Her name is Emilie, I recalled. The memory skipped to being with Xavier, but there were rings on our fingers. I stared at the man in front of me with my mouth agape, he was my _husband. _I recalled our wedding, which seemed to interrupt Christmas. The more I remembered, the less there was around me.

"Victoria," Xavier spoke my name.

I looked over to him to see his body becoming transparent. I gasped, and looked around me. Everything was turning into dark mist, and then disappearing.

"What's going on?" I asked in panic.

"You have been saved," he smiled.

"What do you mean?"

Xavier didn't explain himself. I walked up to him, but he became even more invisible. Another flash of memory jumped into my mind. Me running, but I was a wolf, and then I drank from a man. My whole life flashed into my mind just then, and Xavier smiled like he knew exactly what was happening. I was a hybrid. And this was not real...my life was better then this.

"Victoria," Xavier called out.

I turned back to him, but he was already gone. Everything was gone...

My eyes snapped open. It was a very brightly lit room. I closed my eyes again, but only for a second. When I opened them, everything was clear. Xavier, my husband, was saying my name and stroking my hand.

I was more confused than ever.

I looked around for anything that seemed like it would be familiar. I was no longer in the car and I wasn't about to be burned alive in a church. The whole thing had been a very strange dream. My husband was next to me, and I wasn't really just getting to know him. I smiled at his presence next to me, but it didn't last long. I soon felt that I wasn't alone.

His face was buried in my hair, so he didn't see that I was awake. Someone else was grinning down at me. My eyes widened, I thought about screaming, but I cringed instead. The man was short, gawky, and a little on the ugly side. His wide freakish eyes stared at me like he was planning on enjoying me for dinner later. I tried to fight against my urge to scream, I tried really hard. I ended up screaming bloody murder, anyway.

The man jumped back, startled, but he then laughed. It sounded exactly how you would expect it to sound, like a little girl shrieking. I would have laughed if I wasn't so afraid.

Xavier jumped up, and looked down at me the second I screamed. "You're okay!" He gasped. He had dark circles under his eyes, frown lines, and his completion looked sickly. Something terrible had happened.

I didn't respond to him. I wasn't entirely sure that I was okay. I wasn't sure that he was okay either. I asked a question to change the subject. "Where am I?"

Xavier laughed, it sounded slightly hysterical, like he wasn't all the way there mentally. I sat up, but he pushed me back down.

"Stay there. You need to rest."

"It looks like I've rested enough," I snapped.

"Lie down," he suddenly exploded.

I leaned back against the bed at once. I wasn't expecting his fury, or the growling to be directed at me. I stared at him wide-eyed until his heavy breathing slowed. The freakish man was watching us from the end of the bed, smiling. I glared at him for a brief second before turning back to Xavier. His growling stopped, and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Victoria!" Someone cried.

I turned my head just in time to see Emilie tackle me. I laughed for a second, but then turned my head to see Xavier's reaction. He looked down at me with wide eyes, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't like that Emilie did this. What was wrong with him?

"I've missed you so much!" She gushed. "I knew you would come back to me." Emilie hugged me tightly.

"Not so tight," Xavier touched Emilie's arm, "I don't like this."

Emilie rolled her eyes at him. "She is fine now Xavier. You can stop."

He growled under his breath, but took a step back to give her some room. Emilie was telling me something important. I didn't hear anything she said, though. I was staring at Xavier, who was acting like an entirely different person. His eyes flashed up to mine for a brief moment, and saw that I was glaring at him. We both stared at each other for a long time before Emilie distracted me.

"Are you listening?" She smacked my shoulder.

Xavier growled again, and Emilie hissed at him back.

"No. I didn't catch that." I whispered, looking away from him.

"This is Doctor Jack," she pointed at the crazy looking man. "He's the one who brought you back."

"Oh," I said awkwardly, "thank you." I didn't look at him long, especially after his huge eyes were looking at me.

"You're very welcome," he grinned. "I hope you will be on your way soon."

"Yes, of course," Emilie said at once. She clearly didn't want to be here any longer then I did.

Xavier helped me off the bed, and pulled me into his arms. The kiss was just like all the ones I remembered, but then it became new. His lips moved fiercely, it was a little hard to keep up. He had missed me more then I can comprehend. What had happened to me? I cut my tongue on his fangs when he pulled away roughly. I closed my mouth to keep the incident from him.

"Mother," Emilie called, "Victoria is awake."

Anna came rushing into the room. She eyed Xavier cautiously before she approached me. I didn't understand it. Did I have some kind of disease? She did not hug me, like I expected her to do.

"I'm so glad we have you back," Anna patted my shoulder.

That was it?

"Thanks," I mumbled.

Xavier pulled me in for another kiss again. This one wasn't as rough. It was sweet and simple like he kissed me when we first met. I knotted my fingers in his hair, just like I used to, and we both seemed lost in our little world. Someone cleared their throat, it sounded a little girlish, so it must have been Jack.

"I need to carry out my...experiments," Jack chose his words precisely.

I didn't want to know anything about his experiments. "We'll leave." I gripped Xavier's hand tighter, and walked out of the laboratory-like room. "Where are we exactly?" I whispered to Xavier.

"Fair well," Jack called.

"In the basement of his home," Xavier replied. He let go of my hand, and wound his arm around my waist. He then led me to a narrow staircase. I stopped him halfway up.

"What's wrong with you?" I demanded.

He shook his head.

"Tell me."

"I don't think you are well enough to be discussing this right now, are you even sure you are awake?" He smirked.

I knew it was a joke, but I was still mad. "I am wide awake. Tell me."

"I thought I had lost you," he whispered, "I am still not over it."

"Okay." I left it at that. "Where are the others?" I asked, as we walked up the remaining stair steps.

No one answered me.

Emilie greeted me again when I entered an old fashioned kitchen. "Kind of strange isn't it?" Emilie smiled, but I could tell it wasn't real.

The whole upstairs seemed to be from a different era. I had no idea which one, though. The downstairs was so normal compared to this. Xavier smiled a little, and then led me ahead of him. Outside, was no better looking then the inside. I recognized their SUV parked on the side of the house. It looked like it had just been through a tornado, though.

"What happened?" I asked Emilie in horror.

"You don't remember?"

"No."

"You got shot in the head," Xavier told me sadly.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"The hybrids attacked us, and Lucifer must have supplied them with a new type of weaponry," Emilie explained in detail. "You were shot in the head with a new type of bullet because usually we heal from that."

"They had some kind of gray mist leaking out of them," Xavier muttered, cringing from the memory.

"The doctor told us that he had created it, and it was deadly to whoever it possessed. He was the only one who had the cure. It was very lucky. The mist travels through your body, and eventually fries your brain," Emilie whispered, looking nervously at Xavier.

All the pain in my body finally made sense. All of the strange dreams and the people who turned into mist, that was all to simulate the mist leaving my body. I touched my forehead, but there was no bullet hole to feel. I sat down on the steps of the ugly farmhouse. It felt like I had been asleep for a million years.

"How long was I asleep?" I wondered aloud.

"Three days," Xavier replied gravely.

Wow. At least it wasn't three years. I flexed my muscles, making sure I wasn't still at all. My stomach ached tremendously, but oddly enough I wasn't craving any blood. The doctor came out from the house after Anna. I looked up at him, only to turn away. His eyes still bothered me more then they should.

"You forgot this," he handed Emilie a silver object.

The compass, I realized.

Emilie reached out to take it. Her hand touched his only slightly. She suddenly got still, and shook like she was having a hysteric episode. I jumped up from the stairs to grip her arm. She started to shake violently, and then her eyes went back into her head.

"Emilie!" I shrieked.

The doctor told me to hold her down, and make sure to keep her still. I did as he said, but I knew she would hate being in the inch high mud. I set her on the steps, making sure to keep her still. Anna was screaming behind me, none of what she said made any sense. She was having hysterics again.

Emilie stopped out of nowhere. She was breathing slowly with her eyes closed. Nothing else seemed to be wrong with her. I brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes snapped open, startling me. She looked at the doctor, and then back to me. "Let's get out of here."

"Sweetheart, you are in no condition to go anywhere," Anna whispered, placing her hand on Emilie's forehead.

"Now!" Emilie screamed.

Xavier picked up Emilie, and carried her to the destroyed car. I followed them quickly, stopping to thank the doctor one more time. Anna got into the drivers seat, as Xavier placed Emilie in the back seat. He forced me to sit beside him in the middle. I don't know why. That's where I was going to sit anyway.

"Where's Victor?" Anna cried out as she started the car. She looked around the trees, seeing no one.

"Where is Victor?" I repeated. I hadn't seen him once.

"He's gone," Emilie growled, "get moving."

"What?" Anna gasped.

"He left us." Emilie climbed out of her seat, tumbled over Xavier and me, to get to the front seat. She pushed on the gas, and started to do Anna's driving for her.

"Emilie!" Anna screamed. "Stop the car!"

"We have to get out of here!"

Xavier and I exchanged glances warily. Emilie was driving fine, though. We were not scared. I was just curious to why she was behaving this way. And why Victor had left us?

"Get off of me Emilie. I will drive," Anna commanded.

Emilie sat in the passenger seat and sighed. "Okay."

"Will you tell me what the hell is going on with you?" Anna glared at her.

"We have to get as far away from that place as we can. Just drive. Here Victoria," Emilie handed me the compass.

"Why did you have this?" I asked.

"I didn't want anything to happen to it," she clearly lied.

"Oh," I mumbled. "How close are we to New York?"

"Half way there," Anna replied. "Where did Victor go?" She suddenly turned to Emilie.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. He just said he was leaving, and we couldn't go with him."

"Why would he do this?" Anna whispered to herself.

"Where is everyone else?" I whispered to Xavier for a second time.

He hesitated. "We don't know."

"What happened?"

"When we were attacked by the other hybrids three days ago, they distracted them for us. We haven't seen them since."

"We need to find them," I uttered.

"We have to get to New York before Lucifer," Emilie reminded me.

"What if something happened to them?"

"It's not likely that they were killed, Victoria," Emilie rolled her eyes.

I frowned. Xavier pulled me against his chest. I played with his coat until I was bored. My stomach was howling for food, but I doubted that there was any here. Xavier touched my stomach with a frown.

"You need food," he whispered.

No really? "I know."

"Mom, stop somewhere for something to eat. Victoria hasn't had food in days. I think her stomach is starting to attack her."

"Alright," Anna said barely above a whisper.

She was upset. We were all upset. I needed a distraction from the pain in my stomach. "Emilie, why did we need to leave so quickly?"

"When we first came to the farm house, the same thing happened," she shook her head.

"What?"

"I collapsed and started to shake. I was having a vision, a brief memory from the past. I think it was my ability to know things. It was warning me."

"That's never happened before," Xavier noted, "why is it now?"

"I don't know," Emilie said simply.

Anna was watching Emilie's face when she was not watching the road. She was curious to hear about the new ability too.

"It was another memory that you saw earlier?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Of what?" Xavier asked distinctly.

"What _Jack _had done."

The three of us waited for her to continue, anxiously.

"At first I saw him in a very early year," she began, "that's why I asked him where he was from. He told me London. It was exactly London where my vision was. I also asked him the year, and he told me 1888. That fits the time period perfectly."

"What did he do?" Xavier asked impatiently. He seemed like he knew the man couldn't be trusted. I bet he didn't want to trust the man to save me. I was glad he did, though.

"He snuck into a brothel, and killed one of the women there. He did not do it for food, though. He enjoyed cutting her up. You couldn't even recognize the woman when he was done. He even took one of the parts with him," Emilie cringed in disgust.

"That sounds like—" Xavier started to say.

"It is!" Emilie exclaimed.

Xavier became still, but his arms tightened around me. He did not say anything more. I touched his cheek, and he leaned his head in my hand. I sighed as his soft skin caressed my hand.

"What are you talking about?" Anna asked in confusion.

"That was why father didn't want to go to him. He didn't trust him because of that. We should never trust him because of that. That's why he probably goes by jack," she added, "for a joke."

"Because of what?" Anna asked.

I tried to think about all the things she said. His name was Jack, but he only goes by it? He was turned in the 1800s in London. He had dismembered a prostitute...

"Oh," I said aloud.

Xavier looked at me, startled. I looked at him in shock. "You let Jack the Ripper perform surgery on me."

A small gasp came from Anna. She never said anything else, though. The speedometer went up to 150, and that made me smile a little. We needed to get to New York as fast as we could. Xavier was looking at the ground, ashamed of himself. I touched his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

"I shouldn't have taken you there. I didn't know what he was," he whispered.

"Exactly. You didn't know. I am alive, am I not?"

"You are," he agreed.

"We need a new car," Emilie interrupted us.

"We do," I agreed.

Anna stopped the car when we were at the border of Mississippi. She pulled off to the side, and took out her cell phone. I could hear her leaving a message to Victor. It figures that he wouldn't answer. I walked over to Emilie, who was pacing back and forth by the car. She seemed to be lost in a daze.

"Emilie," I said for the third time.

"What?" She looked up at me startled.

"Why did you have my compass, really?"

She smiled. "You see through me too easily."

"Will you tell me?" I begged.

"I wasn't sure if the doctor would be able to save you. I thought someone had to take over for you. I knew it would only work for you, but I had to try."

"You could have all been permanently frozen forever, and I could have died!" I exclaimed. "How could you do that?"

"I know it was stupid. I just had to take the chance. It wouldn't even open for me. I broke my nail on it," she chuckled.

"It was incredibly stupid," Xavier spoke up. I never noticed that he followed me. He was starting to get annoying. He never left my side, but I understood why.

"I'm sorry!" Emilie snapped, and then walked away.

"She has a very short temper with you," I noted.

"She has a lot to be angry with me about, but that doesn't mean you behave like a child. Speaking of which, you need to tell me when you leave," Xavier said.

"Why? I just stepped out of the car like everyone else. I am standing right next to it."

"I looked up, and you were gone," he fumed. "Don't do that to me again."

"Okay," I said quickly. I didn't like this new temper of his.

"Thank you." He wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me against his chest. I set my head against his shoulder and sighed. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"It doesn't matter. I was just thinking."

"I still want to know," he pressed.

"I am just wondering how bad off I was to make you behave this way," I told him unwillingly.

His face got sad. I immediately regretted it. I touched the side of his face, and then trailed my fingers down his throat. "I am fine now. We are both fine. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"I am worried that it will happen again."

"Something will probably happen, but it will not be the same thing. Something always happens to us. It's like a constant thing," I laughed once without humor.

He was still sad. Emilie bounced up, clearly not upset anymore. I wished I could get over things as easily as her. It was a true talent.

"I found a fast car," she grinned, "it will hold everything."

"Good." Xavier smiled, leading me towards Emilie.

"There are actually people here too," she added.

"That's great. I wonder how long it's going to last," Xavier muttered.

Axel was slowly working his way here, I thought bitterly. There were only people missing in Rockwell, Arkansas last I knew. It had spread to Texas already. I snuggled into Xavier's chest when we passed the teary-eyed Anna. She was still calling Victor non-stop.

The car was a bright red shade with black racing stripes. It was more ostentatious then we wanted, but it was better then nothing. I sat with Xavier in the back seat, while Emilie put the cooler in the trunk. The entire car smelt of delicious food. My mouth watered the second I caught the scent.

Emilie laughed. "I stopped by a fast food place."

I ripped the food out of her hand before she even had time to tell me what it was. Xavier took his politely. Anna sat in the passenger seat, ignoring the food and us all together. I hoped she would get over it soon, but then I remembered how badly off I was when my husband left. I now felt sympathy for her. Emilie cheerfully announced that she was driving, and took off before anyone could tell her different. I chuckled, and leaned against the seat.

"Emilie?" I asked.

"Yes," she sang.

"Why did you never tell me about fairies?" I asked curiously.

Xavier's hand clamper over my mouth suddenly. I looked up at him in confusion. His eyes were wide and fearful. "What?" I mumbled against his hand. I'm sure they couldn't understand me.

"Never say that word," Emilie hissed.

"Fairy?"

Xavier clamped my mouth again. "Don't say it," he growled.

"Why?" I asked more confused then I have ever been.

"If you speak that word one will show up," Emilie explained.

"Oh that's neat."

"No. It isn't," Xavier growled.

"What's wrong with you two?" I wondered aloud in confusion.

"Do not ever say that word, trust me." Emilie threw her palms up in the air with her hands out forward. It was clear that she meant what she said.

"You can't tell me why?" I hated how they were all so damn mysterious all the time. It was bad enough that they never told me about other creatures. I sat against the seat and made a pouting noise.

Xavier laughed. "Just don't say that word sweetheart, ok?"

"I won't if you tell me why not," I replied.

"I don't want to talk about it. I am afraid one will show up," Emilie grimaced.

"Please," I begged.

"I don't think so."

"Aw come on Emilie," I almost growled.

"She did say please Emilie." Xavier pressed his lips together to keep from smiling as she turned back to glare at him.

Emilie sighed.

"What's wrong with one showing up?" I demanded.

"If one shows up you are both dead," she growled under her breath. "They will show up and you can never get rid of them."

"So?"

"They will never leave you alone for weeks. You have no idea how extremely annoying they are." Emilie growled from the memory.

"So don't ever say that word." Xavier told me.

"How are they annoying?" I asked, interested.

"They talk like...I don't know like they are the size of a peanut. They also think its funny to use their magic to ruin your day," Emilie scowled.

"They should all be wiped out of existence," Xavier agreed.

"Did they do that to you?" I asked Emilie.

"Yes," she growled.

"She didn't believe mom and dad when they told her not to say the word. She said it, and regretted it," Xavier smirked.

"What happened?" I smiled.

"She ruined all my clothes!" Emilie exclaimed. "She made everything in my room mismatch. I wanted to rip her head off."

"Tell her what happened afterwards," Xavier laughed. It was nice to see him smiling.

"She changed my hair color," Emilie growled.

I laughed out loud. "To what color?"

"It was pea green with yellow streaks."

"Oh my God," I snickered, "what did you do?"

"I dyed it, after I left the house. The _thing_ didn't know where I went, so it got bored after awhile. I was able to go home in a week." Emilie pondered for a moment. "After the Devine beings, and whatever Axel is I'm not sure I know what else there is."

"There are mermaids," Xavier said.

"Really?" I exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't know about them till recently, and I don't really care for them. They are not very nice creatures."

I wanted to know why, but Emilie started babbling on and on about everything I missed out on. I nodded to her, and occasionally asked questions. She just kept talking up a storm all the way to New York. Not once did I get a chance to talk to my husband.

Xavier was watching me silently. His eyes haven't left me since I woke up in the strange bed. I had a feeling he was watching me a long time before that too. I stared into his eyes as he stared into mine. I felt like when we first met, the love had overwhelmed my body. I wanted to attack him right this second.

But that would have been a bad idea.

Anna was silent the whole time. The only thing she did was call Victor every hour. She left messages till the mailbox was full. I assumed it was since she stopped leaving them. She curled her arms around her legs, as she set her head down on them.

Where had Victor gone?


	9. The City that Never Sleeps

Ch 9.

The City that Never Sleeps

The city lights flashed across my face, making me blink. I had been adjusted to the dark for the last few hours, so it takes awhile to get used to. Tall skyscrapers teetered over our heads, almost scaring me. That was until I remembered that I couldn't die.

The bridge we crossed was lit up like the fourth of July, also matching the rest of the city. I could smell the pulses of humans under the brides, and some even in the sewer lines. This was the homeless capital of the U.S. The cooking in the air smelt of salt and too much oil. I rolled up the window before we proceeded any further.

Cars were moving slowly on the sides of us, as well as the front of us. People chatted it up on their phones or were watching movies in the car. A few of them were furious and shouted profanities out their windows. I watched one man get out of the back seat of a car, take out a gun, and pull an elderly woman out of another car. She fell on her face, bleeding and sore. The blood called to me like it was a long lost lover.

I shook my head and looked away.

Music from clubs could be heard from in between the loud motors around us. I perked my ears up as I bobbed my head to a dance song. I listened farther to hear a man hitting on a woman at the bar. Their drinks were being shaken up and then poured in front of them. The woman then slapped the man and walked away.

Our car had passed the bloody woman, so luckily I could focus more on the things around me. Most of it was other, (tightly packed) cars. I sighed and looked up at the top of the skyscrapers. Random lights covered the top floors. Some were red, some were blue, and others were white.

"Victoria, what do you think of New York?" Emilie asked.

I ignored her.

Xavier was asleep with his arms around me. Emilie told me that he hadn't slept since the day I was shot. I tried my best to be still and quiet. I didn't want to wake him. Emilie wasn't helping at all; she hadn't stopped talking since Mississippi.

"What do you think about New York?" She asked again.

"Emilie," I begged, "do you think you can _try_ to let Xavier sleep for awhile."

"Yes," she said at once, "I'm sorry. I didn't think about it."

"It's okay," I whispered.

She didn't listen. "What do you think of New York? Isn't it amazing? I was here in the 90's, and I absolutely loved it. However, no one ever took me back," Her face fell.

"Emilie," I almost laughed.

"Oh right. Sorry." She frowned, and then smiled apologetically.

We were soon on another bridge with a million cars in front of us. The line looked like it stretched for miles and miles. I groaned, almost wanting to give up on the whole thing. I could see the tall sky scrapers better from this spot, though. I wished we could get there now. Part of me wanted to abandon the car, and run into the city. It would be fast enough, so no one would ever see us, and this was not our car, anyway.

"Should we run?" I asked Emilie for advice.

"I'm not sure. That's what I would do, though. I'll ask mom." She shook Anna until she woke up.

"What Emilie?" Anna yelled. It stunned Emilie for a second, which made Anna turn away from her. Then she immediately checked her phone. I could tell that there weren't any new messages.

"Should we run the rest of the way because of the traffic jam?" Emilie asked.

"We will have to wait until the human behind us isn't looking." Anna looked back at the man in the truck.

"I think we can do that," Emilie insisted, "what's the worse that can happen?"

"I wouldn't say that. Anything that can possibly happen will most likely happen to us," I sighed.

"Someone's negative," Xavier's lips ghosted down my neck.

"You are supposed to be sleeping," I grinned at him.

"Well maybe you should quit distracting me then," he suggested.

I scoffed. "You distract yourself."

"How could I—" he started to say.

"He's not looking!" Emilie screamed, as she ran out of the car.

"What?" Xavier asked in confusion.

I gripped his hand, while running out of the car after Anna. "We're in a traffic jam, and we decided to run the rest of the way there."

"Okay," Xavier said. There wasn't much else he could do. The decision was made without him. "Where does the map tell us to go?"

"I don't know."

"Isn't that something you should know?" He sounded angry.

"It only told me a riddle," I muttered unwillingly.

I jumped over a car at the same time he did. We both landed in a vacant lot where Emilie and Anna were standing. I looked up at the beautiful city lights, not wanting to look away. Xavier pulled me over to the others, and then stood me in front of them. I knew he wanted me to tell them about the riddle.

"The compass was marked on New York City, but it never specified an exact spot," I informed them.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Anna exclaimed. "Where are we supposed to go? What are we going to do?"

Emilie stared at me blankly. "There was something more there, wasn't there Victoria?"

"Yes. There was a riddle."

They waited for me to say more.

"That's all it showed me," I whispered.

"Well what is the riddle?" Anna asked impatiently.

"The higher you are, the more you can see."

The two of them looked confused. Xavier had let me go to think about it as well. Emilie's face brightened up like she just had an epiphany.

"We're supposed to get high," she said it like it was obvious.

"What?" Xavier looked at her like she was insane.

"I'm sure there are plenty of drug dealers around here," she explained herself, "and we've got money."

"Emilie, we are not buying pot," I said loudly. She wasn't thinking clearly. She was thinking like she was already high.

"But all we have to do is just smoke really quick, and then we will be able to see everything. We'll know exactly where to go. Just like magic."

"Emilie," Anna put her hand on her shoulder, "that doesn't make any sense."

Xavier laughed. "It most likely won't work on our kind anyway Em."

"You might be right about that, but alcohol works on us. Maybe it will too. You're right, though. It doesn't make any sense," Emilie sighed, "what do we do now?"

"Find a place to sleep tonight," Anna yawned.

"That sounds like a good idea," Xavier approved. "We need to get you cleaned up, and into fresh clothes...or out of them," he winked.

I smiled in embarrassment.

I had been wearing the same outfit for days. It did not smell, though. Our kind never smelt bad. A shower sounded really good right now, however. "Which hotel do you want to stay at?" I asked Anna.

"The Plaza," Emilie blurted out at once.

"Fine," Anna sighed. "All I care about is getting a comfy bed."

We flitted out of the empty lot, looking back occasionally to make sure we were not followed. The streets were crowded with people, even being so late. "I see why this is the city that never sleeps," I commented to Xavier.

"Yes," He agreed. He was smiling at me strangely. I didn't understand it.

"What?"

"We are going to be alone tonight," he grinned.

"So?"

"So...I may not be able to control myself," he grinned wickedly.

"Oh." Comprehension flickered on my face, which made him laugh. I would have blushed if that were possible. "Let's keep conversations like this in private," I nodded my head towards Emilie, who was in easy listening distance, (probably on purpose).

"Yes ma'am," Xavier smirked.

I giggled, and leaned against his side, as we walked towards the hotel. Everything was calm outside. Yes, there were the noises of cars, and the occasional person, but that didn't bother me. It was what just jumped in front of us that bothered me. I jumped back, as I gasped. Xavier pulled me behind himself, and then moved into a protective stance.

Lucifer.

I growled from behind Xavier's shoulders. He hissed once to make me be quiet. I assumed that he didn't want an unnecessary fight. I still didn't feel good about being around Lucifer, but only because he wasn't acting right.

"I was shocked to see you were still alive, back in Louisiana. I thought for sure that your brain would have been melted. It's a pity, _for you_. The pain will be greater now if you don't give me what I want. Now hand over the compass," Lucifer held out his hand.

A million emotions flickered in my head before I decided to be brave. I narrowed my eyes at him. My fangs popped out of my mouth, and I couldn't help but hiss at him. Xavier gave me a warning glance again.

"Give it to me." Lucifer said each word distinctly.

"No," I snarled.

"This can be easy or this can be hard."

I shook my head at once. Xavier pushed me back behind him further. Then he hissed at me to stay there. I gripped his shoulders with both my hands, and peered around his side.

"Look, I know now that the map is inside the compass. It was mine to begin with, so give it back."

"No," Xavier growled.

"I am the first vampire. I am your ruler. You cannot undermine my authority. Hand it over! I am done asking nicely."

Xavier punched him in the face with his claws out. Deep cuts were across the side of Lucifer's face, and he looked mad as hell. His fangs came out, as he crouched to pounce on Xavier. Xavier moved me away from them both, while he told me to stay out of it. Xavier crouched down as well. I stayed against the wall with the compass held tightly in my right hand.

I wanted to help him, wanted to end the fighting, and destroy Lucifer once and for all. However, something inside told me this was not my fight. Something told me that it was time to run. I needed to get out of there before something happened.

I couldn't run.

Xavier and Lucifer were ripping each other apart. Xavier's clothing was practically falling to pieces on the ground. Lucifer was covered in so many deep gouges that he looked like one of the dead. Not that he technically wasn't one of the dead.

We were all dead.

I moved my electricity to my hand, making a small, round ball of it. Lucifer was hard to reach in the angle he was standing. Also, Xavier kept flipping him over his back. I didn't want to hurt my husband instead.

I was about to shoot Lucifer in the head, until I was distracted. An arrow shot out of nowhere. It went whizzing past me, and stuck Xavier in the head. I screamed, running over to him stupidly. He shoved me back against the wall immediately; the arrow only grazed his head.

"Get out of here Victoria!"

I scrambled away, just in time to see another arrow hit Lucifer in the middle of the forehead. He pulled it out with a hiss. The hole had smoke coming out of it. Two people came running towards them with crossbows. I didn't get a chance to see what they looked like.

"I told you to leave," he shoved me into the street, "run!"

For the first time, I listened to him. I flitted down the street without looking back. I knew I should have left, but I never listened. For this moment on I would listen to my family more often. They are older and have more experience than I do.

The streets were barren, but only in the trashy parts of town. I ran through each of them, hoping to not see any more people. I couldn't stand to see anyone, but my sister right now. The hotel was only halfway through the city, technically. I had to go to a completely different Island, though. The hotel was the size of seven city blocks; I had to stop myself from staring in awe. It was decorated in brightly colored lights, streamers, and spotlights in the front.

"Great," I sighed. Like I wanted to be the center of attention.

People got out in limousines. Paparazzi cameras flashed. The red carpet rolled out past the street. I wished I was wearing a gown right now; I could easy pass by unnoticed.

I ducked into the crowd, almost unable to get through without hurting someone. A man got a broken arm when I pushed him out of the way. I needed to watch my own strength. When I was agitated I didn't be careful like I usually did. The doors of the hotel were bright maroon, and held open by men in tuxedos. I tried to go around one of them before the celebrities or workers saw me.

I burst through the doors of the hotel, and found Emilie at once. I heard a man yell at me from outside, but being with Emilie made him settle down. She always looked rich. I gripped her by the shoulder, and tried to take her with me.

"What's wrong?" She exclaimed, worried.

"Lucifer showed up, wanting the compass," I said.

"Let's go," she took of running with me.

Anna was watching us with wide eyes, while we ran out the door. She mouthed something to me, but I didn't get a chance to see it.

"Anna's worried," I muttered to Emilie.

"I don't care," she said, "what happened?"

"Someone started shooting arrows at us, after Lucifer showed up. Xavier made me leave," I called to her. It was hard to hear when you traveled at these types of speeds.

I stopped when I came to the place where I last saw Xavier. I looked around, not seeing anyone. A hiss came from the left of me, and I spun around on my heels. Xavier was hiding in between a cardboard box and the dumpster.

"What are you doing here?" He growled. "I told you to leave."

"I went and got help," I said.

"So you got Emilie," he scoffed.

Emilie hissed behind me.

"They are obviously gone, so let's get back to the hotel," I suggested, hoping he would go.

"Never assume anything Victoria," he told me, as he hopped onto his feet. "Let's get you somewhere safe."

We ran back to the hotel. I was dying to know what happened, but I held my tongue. Even when we go to our room I kept my mouth shut. It was your average suite, with everything in it. I sat on the bed, and watched Xavier talk on the phone. He hung up quickly, and shrugged out of his clothes.

"Shower?" He asked with a smile.

I took off my clothes as fast as I could. He laughed when I jumped into his arms. Xavier walked us into the bathroom, and then turned on the water. I didn't know how he managed to do it with me in his arms.

"We haven't done this in awhile," I smiled.

"It's been too long," he brushed my hair away from my face. "I've been having some urges," he whispered in my ear.

A chill went through my body, and I ducked my head under the water. He kissed my chest, my neck, and then my lips. I glued my lips to his, while I traced his tongue with my own. I wrapped my legs around his hips, moving myself closer to him. I turned the water up until it actually felt hot to me, and then made sure we both got wet. It had been a very long time since we were together like this, and I didn't plan on going for so long again. I couldn't stand it.

We moved symmetrically against each other. Every little movement sent sparks of electricity through my body. Part of me wondered if the electrical part of me had something to do with that. It was only the back of my mind that thought that, though. The front of my head was consumed with every move Xavier was making. We were both exhausted when the water stopped being hot, but we still made no move to leave. Xavier finally shut the water off before carrying me to the bed.

"Try to sleep," Xavier encouraged me. He flipped the covers over my body.

"No promises," I giggled.

That night I slept a dreamless night for the first time in months. When I was in my coma-state I must have dreamed myself dry. I awoke with Xavier halfway on top of me, snoring louder then I've ever heard him before. I wiggled away from him, and looked out the window. It was pouring cats and dogs outside.

"Xavier." I shook him a few times.

He did not respond, but there was a light knock on the door. I got down from the bed, and moved to the door slowly. I was a little nervous when I approached the door. It wasn't normal for people to be knocking this early.

"Who is it?" I called out softly, placing my hand against the door.

"Someone left a package for you, Mrs. Williams," a woman said.

"Oh. Just a minute," I called. I rushed to the bathroom, and put on one of the robes. I ran back to the door fast, and yanked it open. There was a woman standing there with a small package in her hands. She was not smiling like I thought she would be, though.

"Who's it from?" I asked suspiciously.

"A man named Koby," she replied in an Australian accent.

"How do you know it's a man?" I wondered aloud.

The girl's brow furrowed. She had brown eyes and brown hair. Part of her hair was up in a strange fashion, and the rest hung down in braids. She had earrings on that were made out of teeth. I thought she was planning on robbing me because she looked nothing like the other workers here. She had a short leather jacket and boots on. Her jeans were dirty, and were held up by a utility belt.

She carried a medium sized satchel around her waist, which clung to it like it was a second skin. I reached out to take the package from her, but she moved away quickly. She flung the box over my head; it was just camouflage for her crossbow. She was one of the people who shot at us last night.

"Xavier!" I screamed, as I dodged one of the arrows. "Why are you doing this? I have done nothing to you."

"I'm not a vampire," I said quickly. I was part vampire, but not a true one.

"You really think I am going to believe that that crap?"

"You have to. Please don't hurt me. I am something more," I explained.

I was just buying some time, and trying to get her to think. If she thinks, then she will make foolish choices, and I can get her weapon from her. She moved closer to Xavier, and I shot around her really quick. She didn't see me until I had her weapon in my hands.

"You lying freak," she cussed.

"I'm not a liar. I told you I wasn't a vampire. That was the truth. But now you have to pay for what you have done," I whispered.

The girl looked scared, but she put on a brave face. "I don't care what you do to me. There will be someone else to take my place."

I got curious. "You're a vampire hunter?"

"What of it?" She hissed.

"Just curious, what is your name?"

"What's yours?" She crossed her arms.

"Victoria."

"Zeea."

"That's an unusual name, is it a nickname perhaps?" I don't know why I was so interested in the girl.

"Yeah," she shifted her weight around nervously.

"How many of you are there?" I wasn't expecting an answer to this one.

"Not many," she bit her lip.

"Are those real teeth in your earrings?"

"Fangs from vampires," she said proudly.

I frowned. "How many have you killed?"

"Two dozen, maybe more. Why do you care?" Zeea scowled.

"I have killed my fair share, I've even killed werewolves."

"Have you?" She said like she didn't believe me.

"Yes, I have," I smiled.

She scowled again, and started to chew on her cheek. Xavier was starting to stir; it would only be a matter of time before he saw us. I made her move closer to the door, and then promise me something.

"I will spare your life if you spare me, and my families. Just leave us be."

"_Family_," Zeea scoffed.

I didn't care if she didn't believe me. We are a family, no matter how many of us are missing. The door exploded open behind me, a man jumped into the room, throwing a knife in my general direction. I arched my back, as I ducked; the knife sliced me from my cheek to my brow. The loud blast from the door woke up Xavier. He had Zeea by the throat, threatening to twist his arms.

"Drop the weapons!" He hissed.

The man was almost about to throw another knife at me, but he froze in his odd stance. I was sitting on the floor with my hand against my head. Blood dripped from between my fingers.

"Let her go, and I'll leave...we'll both leave," the man whispered with a Japanese accent.

"You hurt my wife," Xavier hissed. I was afraid he was going to kill both of them on the spot.

"Don't kill them," I pleaded.

Xavier looked at me in surprise. "Why?" He demanded.

"We're not monsters." It took almost a whole year for me to realize that fact. We hunt those who hunted others. Sure we made a few slips, but we try, that's the important thing.

Xavier dropped Zeea with a scowl. He knew I was right, but he wasn't happy about it. "Get out of here."

"What are you?" The Japanese man asked. His bluish hair hung down in his eyes, I wondered how he could see. "Tell me the truth, really."

"We're hybrids," I answered.

"What is that?" Zeea whispered.

I was about to tell more, but Xavier silenced me with one look. My skin was starting to burn where the knife struck me. I picked up the knife, as I looked it over. The blade was made from pure silver. These were not bad people, though. They were just trying to keep the world safe, but there was a bigger problem then the vampires. A demonic creature from another world was now sucking the fun from everything.

"There is a vampire who is an enemy to us both," I began, against Xavier's wishes, "he was with us the night you attacked. He was caused a lot more harm then good."

"Let's get out of here," Koby said after looking at his watch. It was concealed under his leather trench coat.

Zeea and Koby slowly backed out of the room, leaving their weapons behind. I bet they had a lot more then that wherever their hideout was. Zeea nods once to me, I am sure that it meant they were going after Lucifer.

"What's wrong with you?" Xavier demanded after the door shut.

"What?"

"They attack you, and you treat them like old friends." He shook his head in disbelief. "Look at your head," he fanned his arm towards me, "look what they did to you."

"I am fine Xavier." I cross my arms, trying to control my anger.

"I don't get why everything has to happen to you. Can't you be left alone for one month," Xavier yelled on and on.

Eventually I smiled, and then my smile turned into laughter. He noticed, and gripped my arm. I was set on the bed where I was yelled at again. I couldn't stop myself from giggling a second time.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, while laughing.

Xavier was glowering at me.

"It's hard to take you seriously when you are naked," I looked over his body, and then laughed again. He looked hilarious stomping with no clothes on.

Xavier sat next to me with a small smile on his face. "You would find humor somewhere in all this."

"I haven't eaten in days," Anna slapped her hands on the table. "I want more wine; does anyone else want more wine?"

Emilie and I exchanged looks. Anna has had far too much to drink. Xavier had excused himself because he couldn't stand the embarrassment anymore. I was looking around the table, afraid to meet all the other people's glares. Emilie was messaging her long lost love. I really doubted that Dimitri wanted to see her ever again. I told her this, but she would not believe me.

"Am I pretty?" Anna demanded.

Emilie got up from the table. It was just me and Anna now.

"Is that what it is?" She started to sob. "I've been a good wife and mother, have I ever wronged you?"

"No," I admitted, "you more of a mother to me then my real mom. How bout we get the check?"

"I-I want him back," Anna burst into tears, and blew her nose in a napkin.

"Check please," I waved my hand desperately.

I tipped the waitress extra, and then escorted Anna to a cab. She was looking at all the tall buildings with wonder in her eyes. I started to sit her down in the seat of the cab, when she stopped me.

"Wait," she whispered.

"What is it now?" I sighed.

"We need to go up there." Anna pointed to the top of the Empire State building.

"Why?"

"Because we have to," she said it like it was obvious. "It's what we need to do."

"Fine. I'll humor you." I took her hand, as we flitted to the Empire State building. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. The elevator took us to the top in just a few minutes. I could have made it up in seconds. I peered over the edge to let the wind blow through my hair.

"Thank you," Anna patted me.

"You're welcome," I smiled.

Everyone looked like ants from up here, I could have flown up to this height, but I never did in a city. I was afraid someone would see.

"I always love to be higher then anyone else," Anna smirked.

Something clicked in my head. Thank you Anna! I kissed her on the cheek before running to the other side of the building. There were less people over here, and that's exactly what I wanted.

The compass said the higher you are, the more you will see. I was on one of the tallest buildings in New York. I pulled the compass out of my sweater pocket, just as it started to rain again. Everything froze in a powder blue mist, as I opened it, and then the map stretched out into the sky.

The map went from blue to green, and it made a noise similar to water running down a creek. The X changed, and went across the ocean. I grimaced. It landed on a small boot shaped country that I knew as Italy. To be more specific, it landed on Rome, Italy. I had never been there before, and I was a little giddy about it.

"I know where we are supposed to go next," I told Anna happily.

"Is it home?" She asked hopefully.

"No," I laughed.

I walked her back to the cab, and we drove to the hotel. Emilie was there, but Xavier was not. I told her I figured out the riddle, and that we needed to go to Rome. She smiled, but it didn't seem like it was real. Emilie spoke something in Italian.

"What?"

"The romance capital of the world," Emilie grinned.

"We are not going for romance, though."

Her face fell.

"Sorry," I laughed.

"Where is Xavier?" Emilie wondered.

"You mean he isn't with you?" My eyes widened.

"I haven't seen him since he left the restaurant."

"Crap." I ran out of the hotel lounge, and down the street.

Old homeless men and women looked up at me as I passed them by. I had nothing to give them. They turned back to the fire, and rubbed their hands together. I didn't know it was cold out. I should have grabbed a jacket so I looked normal. I was out in a short black and pink dress. Like that didn't look odd to anyone, but at least I had a sweater on.

"Victoria," Emilie called.

I turned to her fast. "Did you find him?"

"He was on the roof," she giggled, "we should have known."

I should have thought of that. I frowned at myself. "Is he still up there?"

"He came down to the room when I told him you were looking for him," she told me.

I ran back to the hotel with Emilie, and then ran straight up to the room. "I was worried for a bit there," I told him when I saw him on the bed.

"Sorry," he smiled apologetically. "Was there something important you wanted to talk to me about?"

"We have to go to Rome next. Isn't that exciting? I've never been there." I sat next to him, and placed my hand on his.

"The map said so."

"Yes."

"We should get some plane tickets and passports then. I'll call." He picked up the phone.

"Emilie?" I called out of my room.

"Yes?" She was there before me instantly.

"Do you think you can get a car to take us to the airport?"

"Of course. I'll pick up the passports too."

"He hasn't even ordered them yet." I looked at her weird.

"You need to think ahead Victoria," she smiled. "And you don't order them. You tell them you want to do it, and you go in to take your picture."

"Then why is he on the phone?"

"Victor already made ours ahead of time. He had a feeling we would need them someday. We just have to call and tell them we are coming to pick them up. See you," Emilie waved.

We got Anna into the car while she was sleeping. We decided it was best to go to the airport, and pick up the passports at the same time. We didn't know how hard it would be, though. Emilie swerved the wheel from side to side. It was all she could do to avoid the cars chasing us.

"Turn up there!" Xavier pointed to the street up ahead of us on the right. He had me pushed down in between the seats. He was not going to chance me getting shot again.

And I was all for never seeing Dr. Ripper again.

Emilie turned where he said, and we lost a few head caps. It wasn't her fault; it was the wide turn that did it. I tried to get up, but I got growled at. He was _way_ too damn protective. I sighed, and lay down on the floor. It was very uncomfortable.

"Try to lose them in the alley," Xavier suggested.

It felt like she had to turn a million times. I kept hitting my head on the passenger seat. Xavier put his leg in front of my head, stopping it from happening. But then I was just hitting his leg instead of the seat.

"Sorry," he said.

"I think I lost them," Emilie said.

Xavier still wouldn't let me up, though. I was started to get a little irritated. "Please Xavier; this is starting to annoy me."

"You have no idea what I went through. I can't come close to losing you again, and I will not let you be in harms way."

"I just want to be able to sit in a seat," I complain.

"Fine. Come here." He held his arms open for me.

Anything was better then being on the floor. I crawled up into his lap, and snuggled into his chest. As much as he irritated me sometimes I couldn't help, but love him. He kissed the top of my head, as he wrapped his arms around me protectively. I didn't want him to be in that position again. I didn't want to know how bad off he was when I was injured.

Anna was sleeping in the chair in front of me. We had to wake her up a little so she would walk into the airport. We sat there for a little while, worried that someone would show up. No one ever did. We got on the plane with no problems at all. But I should have known that all the problems would show up later.


	10. Jump

Ch 10.

Jump

"I am sorry my beloved, but you cannot go where I go. I trust in you to protect our children. I can't tell you how much I love each and every one of you. It pains me to say this, however; we will not see each other for a long time. Thank you for making my life one I will never forget. My Anna, I love you with all of my heart, trust me, and be safe. Farewell, my love."

I pressed the replay button, as I stared blankly at the phone. Victor's words were very formal and well-written. He had his speech prepared. The sounds of his voice sounded distant, like he wasn't the same person he had been. I crossed my legs, put the phone on my lap, and looked back at Anna.

Anna was watching the clouds fly by the window. It seemed innocent to a normal person, but I knew better. Her hands were tightly clutching the arm rests, her perfect nails going into the soft cushions. She had the small, white tray pulled down in front of her. I didn't have to look to know there was alcohol sitting there. However, I did look to count how many bottles she had drank. There were twelve empty bottles.

"May I see the phone?" Xavier asked, holding his hand out towards me.

I hand it to him wordlessly.

We had been on this plane for a day now. I didn't sleep one wink, not that I even bothered to try. Emilie was talking to someone on the phone. I was not sure who it was, probably some relative. She mentioned that we were going to Rome, however; she never said why. The plane was very empty in first class, and I had to admit I liked it. I could sprawl out, and no body could say anything about it.

"Victoria!" Emilie shouted, making me jump out of my skin. "Sorry," she giggled.

"What do you want?" I sighed.

"When we get to Rome do you want me to look for any clues?" She asked.

"For what?"

"To where we are supposed to go," she explained.

"We all can look together, sure."

"I thought just me and Anna could go," she explained further, "so you can do something else." Her eyes widened, and she smiled a little.

I didn't get it. "What?"

She nodded her head towards Xavier a few times, and then wiggled her eyebrows up and down. Xavier looked back at her, but she turned away, trying to fix her hair.

"What's going on?" He asked suspiciously.

"What?" Emilie looked at him as if she never heard a word he said.

"Nothing," he rolled his eyes.

"I get it," I whispered, "you want me to have alone time with him because it's a romantic place."

Emilie nodded with a grin.

"I think this situation is too important to ignore," I whispered. I could not give up on the Devine Blood, just to have a day of romance with my husband. That's what the old, irresponsible me would have done.

"I agree," Emilie said, "you need some time with Xavier now more then ever."

"No." I shook my head.

Emilie put her finger against my lips. "We will be fine. You don't have to worry like you use to. I am more careful now. You go, and take care of my brother...lord knows he needs it."

"But—" I tried to argue.

"That reminds me," she murmured darkly, "I need to tell you something important."

My curiosity got the best of me, and I leaned in to listen to her.

She said nothing.

"What?" I waited anxiously for her to speak.

Emilie looked at Xavier, and then back to me. "Not here. Come with me." She took my hand, while leading me to the bathroom. Emilie locked the bathroom door.

We were standing face to face, only inches were between us. "This is comfortable," I joked.

Emilie smiled, but her face soon turned grim. "When you were...dying, Xavier wasn't himself at all. He was insane with fear."

I thought it was something like that. "I knew he was protective of me, but I didn't think it would affect his mind." Xavier had gone through a lot, and he told me that. I did owe him a day of romance, maybe a lot more then one.

"Big time." Emilie widened her eyes.

"You would think that he would try everything he could to save me."

"We did. There were only a few things we could do. Luckily, Victor knew Dr. Ripper. There is more, though."

Oh no. "What?"

"He told me that if he lost you...he-he would kill himself. He said that he couldn't survive without you." It was very difficult for her to say this out loud.

My face was blank. I believe I was in shock. It took me awhile to be able to form words. "He said that," I hissed.

"Shh, they might be able to hear." She slapped her hand over my mouth.

"Sorry." I mumbled against her hand.

"It's okay," she smiled.

"How could he say that? Does he even have to ability to do it?" I shuddered at the thought of him injecting himself with the poison.

"He wouldn't explain much to me. I thought you should be aware of it, though. Please take care of yourself. I can't lose both a brother, _and_ a sister." Before I could respond, Emilie hugged me tightly around the waist.

"Thank you for letting me know," I said emotionlessly.

"You're welcome. By the way, Anna is as drunk as a skunk."

"I know."

We sat back down, Emilie behind me next to Anna, and I next to Xavier. He smiled at me when I sat down. I tried to smile back, but it came out sour.

"Can I talk to you?" I blurted out to Xavier before I even thought about it.

"Of course," he said with surprise.

I drug him off to the bathroom just like Emilie had done to me. He was confused, but willing. Emilie hissed something to me as I passed. I was not able to tell what, though. I'm sure she was telling me to be careful because of his mind. I knew Xavier wasn't all the way recovered, and I wasn't going to make it worse.

I was standing face to face with him in the bathroom. I hoped he wouldn't take advantage of the small distance between us. He did. I pushed him away after he wrapped his arms around me, and started to kiss my lips. He was surprised and confused by this...maybe even a little hurt.

"What's wrong? He whispered. "Have I upset you?"

"Yes," I admitted.

He looked down, nodding to himself. Then a strange emotion crossed his face that I couldn't detect. "I'm sorry. I know I have been annoyingly over-protective. Its just hard for me, not knowing when or if something will happen to you. I go a little crazy," he laughed once without humor.

That's an understatement. "That is not exactly what I am referring to. It has something to do with it, though," I whispered.

He looked even more confused now.

"Could you really abandon your family, when they really needed you the most, just because you lost me?" I folded my arms across my chest to empathize my point.

He did not answer for a few seconds. "I can not live without you."

"How can you say that?" I demanded, on the verge of tears. I couldn't imagine him harming himself in any way. It was insane.

"I can't," he frowned, "I can't think about a life without you. I can't even think about trying to move on. Without you...I am nothing."

"Just please don't say those things again." I didn't want this to turn into a fight.

"Okay," he whispered, while wrapping his arms around me.

I hugged him back, and found myself kissing his neck and face all over. I couldn't lose him either. I didn't think I would go off myself, though. I would be depressed for a long time, maybe ever forever.

"I love you," I brushed my lips against his.

"I love you more," he grinned.

The plane jerked to the right, and we both flew to the other side of the bathroom. Xavier and I hit heads, and tumbled against the tiny toilet. The plane then skidded to the other side, throwing us in the opposite direction. My butt landed in the sink, causing the water to come on. Xavier landed on top of me with his head in my lap, which caused him to snicker. In a slow movement, we were on the ceiling of the bathroom, and that was when I kicked the door open. We tumbled onto the floor of the plane, as it spun in a complete circle again.

"What the hell is going on?" I cried out.

What little people there were, were screaming and trying to breath into air masks. The plane shook from left to right, tossing a few people out of their seats. I made my way down the aisle, holding onto each of the seats tightly. Xavier had one hand on my arm and the other hand on the seats. A loud wind-gushing noise, which sounded like a tornado was coming from the front of the plane.

I toppled over onto a fat woman, who screamed out loud in a husky man-ish voice. She smacked me with her purse, making my fangs pop out. The woman of course noticed this, and then started to scream more. She called me a monster and fought to get away from me. My fangs were put away before anyone else saw, though.

Xavier pulled me away from the lady with a grimace on his face. "Nice."

"I didn't mean to," I uttered.

"You need to control your emotions," he hissed.

"What about you Mr. Suicidal?"

He said nothing after that.

We got to our seats then and Xavier buckled me in. Emilie was freaking out slightly behind us. I turned around to ask her what happened. "Emilie, what happened?"

"I have to no idea!" She and Anna were holding on tightly to the seats in front of them.

"I'll check it out," I told her. I unbuckled myself and got up from the seat. Xavier sighed as he moved to follow me. He knew I had an over active curiosity.

"No. Wait for me." Emilie got up to follow Xavier and me.

The flight attendants were trying to calm the people down, and make them stay in their seats. So the door to the cockpit was unguarded. I tripped and stumbled my way to the door, but Xavier stopped me. We were then flung against the wall. Emilie was the only one who stayed where she was. She had gripped the side of a cabinet. I pulled myself up and then away from Xavier.

"Be careful Victoria," Xavier said anxiously.

I looked back to see his eyes filled with fear. "Don't worry. I will be fine." It was not something I could promise, not in a million years.

He rolled his eyes in response. "Don't say that. It just makes me worry more."

"What could happen?" I open the pilot's door, but it is stuck.

"Here," Emilie shoved all her weight against it. It burst open. With a high pitched scream, Emilie was gone.

I was sucked inwards as well. I couldn't grab Emilie without flying out of the plane myself. I had my hands clamped on the sides of the doorframes. The two pilots were long gone, the windshield was missing, and we were heading straight towards a tornado. Emilie screamed all the way down till the tornado got a hold of her. I did not hear anything after that.

"Emilie's gone!" I screamed at Xavier.

His eyes were wide, as he reached out towards me. "Try to take my hand."

I let go of the door frame, only to be sucked into the cockpit. My one hand held on, as my body was flying outwards behind me. I closed my eyes, while trying to imagine myself somewhere else. Something touched my arm, and then pulled me through the doorway. Xavier was gripping the cabinet roughly, while holding me to his chest.

"I can not lose you again." With great effort, he swung us into the hallway, and shut the door.

We collapsed on the floor, breathing roughly. "Thank you," I whispered, and kissed him softly.

"No need to thank me. Its' my job," he smirked.

"What are you two doing out of your seats?" The flight attendant demanded.

I glared up at her, planning on making a sarcastic remark. Something crushed against the plane, tearing part of the ceiling off. The flight attendant flew out of the plane in half a second. The only reason we didn't was because Xavier had a death grip on the metal bars of the seat next to us. People screamed as their hair blew around wildly, and their stuff got sucked out of the plane.

"Where's Emilie?" Anna panicked when she saw us alone.

Neither of us answered her.

"Oh my God!" Anna took off her seat belt, and went flying out of her seat. She was out of the plane in a fourth of a second.

"Xavier," I uttered, "should we follow them?" I did not want to be on this plane when it crashed. I looked at him to make sure he heard me.

He seemed to be weighing the options. "We will not die if we do, but we will most likely get hurt. I don't want you to get hurt, but that seems to be unavoidable."

"What if we stay on the plane?" I asked anxiously. I had to yell a second time because of the strong noise of the tornado. It seemed to be getting closer than I anticipated.

"Planes tend to explode when they crash or at least catch on fire. We are not staying on this plane." Xavier stood up with me, still holding onto the seat, but the top of it this time. "Are you ready?" He yelled.

"Yes!" I screamed as loud as I could.

The people around us stared like we were insane.

"Don't do it," one woman called out.

"On three?" He suggested, ignoring the woman.

"Yes," I nodded my head really fast.

"One," Xavier said loud enough for me to hear.

"Stop, you don't know what you are doing!" The woman shrieked.

"Two," I said back.

"Three," we both said together, after tightening our grip on each other's hands.

The woman screamed. "No!"

Xavier jumped, just as the crazed woman knocked me into the wall. I reached out to grab a seat without thinking. The woman and Xavier flew out of the plane. Xavier's eyes were wide and panicked, as he watched me get farther away from him. I was alone, sitting on the floor of the crashing plane.

I crouched down, and tried to spring up out of the hole. The plane dropped down into a downwards spiral, causing me to fall all the way to the back of the plane. I forced myself onto my feet, broke a hole in the side of the plane, and then threw myself out of it. The plane missed the tornado, and blew up when it hit the ground. I barely noticed this, though. I scanned the immediate area for Xavier, as I fell towards the ground.

I flexed my muscles, making myself fly up towards the cloud. The tornado was pulling me back to it, however. I tried to use all my strength to stay away, but the tornado over powered me. I flew backwards, spinning uncontrollably into the tornado. All I could see was gray, nothing else seemed to make sense, and I was getting sick. I spun around until I could see the sky coming towards me.

I shot out of the tornado with pieces of plane following me, and a few bodies. I tried to right myself, as I squirmed away from the dead passengers. I was still dizzy, but I was able to fly away from the tornado. I landed on a grassy plain, standing upright on my feet. A sharp pain went up my leg, coursing all throughout my body, and I fell down.

"Oh God," I gripped my leg. Something did not feel right about it. I was almost afraid to look down. There was a large piece of metal, (from the plane most likely) through one part of my leg, and then going out the other side. I closed my eyes, and breathed through my nose, trying to ignore the problem.

"Don't be afraid," I told myself.

My right hand gripped the edge of the metal, and with a squeal I ripped the metal out of my whole leg. Blood gushed everywhere; I couldn't bare look at the metal. I ripped part of my shirt off that was under my sweater, and tied it around my wound. Something told me that I couldn't run, obviously, so I flew instead. The plane crash site led me nowhere, and left me no clues whatsoever.

"Xavier!" I screamed.

There was no sound.

"Emilie? Anna?" I called out a little louder.

Again, I heard nothing.

The day turned to night, and I was still alone. I approached a road, and quickly decided to follow it. I couldn't read the signs to the cities, but I knew I had to be close to Rome. I flew for a few minutes, before finding a large city. The compass started to shake in my pocket. I had forgotten completely about it, thank God I didn't lose it.

I took out the compass, and opened it up really quickly. The map sprang out quicker then before, as words flashed across my face. I groaned. I knew it was another riddle.

'Lions, swords, and death, how could you expect anything less?'

This one made less sense then the first one. I put the compass away, as I flew into the air. There was a hotel nearby, I checked into it and got a suite. I was very grateful that credit cards worked anywhere. And I was extremely grateful that I had one in my pocket with the compass.

I threw myself down on the king sized bed, sprawling my arms and legs out. The sheets were a shiny color of red, and the cover was a creamy white. It made my eyes flutter and feel heavy. I was too worried to fall asleep, though.

Where could they have gone? I curled up into a fetal position, while pulling the cover over my head. I fell asleep sooner then I thought I would. I wanted to go out to look for them, but I had no idea where to tornado threw them. I dreamed of violent wind, and the plane crashing. Emilie and Xavier flew away from me with panic-filled eyes. I screamed for them, however; they faded from my memory.

I was in a deep sleep when I was startled awake. Someone was in bed with me. I rolled over, and smelled the familiar sweet smell. My fingers knotted in his messy hair, as I pulled myself against him. I kissed his lips repeatedly, knowing how close I was to loosing him.

"How did you find me?" I murmured between kisses.

"It's not that hard," Xavier smirked, "I just follow the disasters."

"Yeah right," I laughed.

We were lying in each other's arms for a few minutes, just glad to be together. "Where are Emilie and your mom?"

"I'm sure they are around here somewhere." He rolled over, placing his arm on my stomach. "Who cares about them right now, anyway?"

I stopped kissing him. His mother and sister were missing, and he didn't care? That was extremely out of character. My whole body froze. Then I thought of something. "I'm sorry about what happened on the plane."

"Me too."

"What happened on the plane?" I said each word slowly.

He was silent.

Oh my God. I threw myself out of the bed, and hit my face against the floor. My leg was still injured, and wasn't prepared for me to jump on it. "Stay away from me," I warned, as I rubbed my leg.

Axel flashed his razor sharp shark teeth, as he laughed. "Ah, how I've missed you."

I growled, as I crawled to the other side of the room. I couldn't believe I kissed him. I spat on the floor, and wiped my mouth off.

"Don't pretend that you didn't like it," he smiled wickedly.

"Don't come near me!" I yelled as he stepped closer. I focused on the dangerous part of my mind. I hoped I wouldn't hear voices in my head again after this. They disappeared when I woke up in Doctor Rippers home. I think whatever he did must have cured me. I shot electricity through my fingertips, throwing Axel through the wall. I used the distraction to escape before he hurt me.

I flew out of the room through the window. It was dark out, and I had no idea where I was going. But when had that ever stopped me before? They sky got cloudy, and it started to rain. I knew that Axel had caused this. Lightning lit the sky every second, and I knew that wasn't normal.

The ground shook, almost like and earthquake, but less severe. The people below me screamed, and ran away. I didn't speak Italian, so I had no idea what they were saying. I watched in horror, as the ground opened up and swallowed them.

The lightning turned red, and I couldn't see anything. The moon had disappeared all together. Where was Kathanna when I needed her? I was forced to land, but I did so on a building. That was so I had a better chance of getting away.

I started to turn to another building, when I was suddenly shoved off. "Gah!" I screamed out. I gripped the edge of the building, trying to save myself. I slipped, and hit the pavement with a sickening crack. My head was spinning like crazy, and to add to the injury, I was thrown against a brick wall.

"You know, I don't really like lightning," Axel commented.

"No?" I muttered sarcastically.

His grip tightened around my throat. "No. I also don't like you or your little gifts that define nature. It reminds me of _them_. I hate _them_," he growled in a demonic voice.

"Who?" I coughed out.

"The Devine Beings," he mocked their name. "They are the ones who trapped me in their domain. I am free now. This world will be mine. As for you, I might keep you as another wife."

Another one? I spit in his face.

Axel laughed. "You remind me of my late fiancé, ole what's her name."

I cringed in disgust. How dare he compare me to _Olivia_! I growled, and sent three hundred volts of electricity into his stomach. He flew back into the stone wall, screaming in pain. I flitted down the street, trying to ignore the pain in my leg.

Halfway down the street, Axel tackled me. I was pinned against the street, not able to move at all. He gripped my hair to pull my head back, and kissed my neck. I growled, but I had to admit this action surprised me.

"You are so evil," he murmured in my ear, "I can smell it on your skin. You are different then the others."

I struggled against his hold on me. But Axel tightened his grip. I was not evil. I was nothing like him. I would never be evil.

"What are you?" He whispered seductively, "something more perhaps?" He laughed.

I kicked my leg back, hitting him in the groin. Nothing happened. He just laughed at me a couple times. "I knew you weren't a man."

Axel snapped my neck.

There was the sound of glass breaking, and men growling. I moved my head to the side, it was stiff. The buildings around me were all in rubble. No people were around at all. Axel must have taken them to wherever he had been hiding them.

"Are you alright?"A man with an Italian accent asked.

"I don't know," I muttered with my eyes shut.

He laughed once. It was a strange sound. "You should not be here...many quakes have happened."

You have no idea, I thought. "Okay," I whispered. "I can't walk."

He looked around really quick, and then picked me up. He was a vampire. I could tell from the way he smelled. It was a sour smell, a smell of death. I didn't know why he was helping me. Surely he would know what I was or was he really that stupid? He looked down at me once, and I recognized him.

At first, I started to freak out. Then I remembered that he thought I was a vampire. I was hopefully going to be carried to a safe place where he planned to stake me. I could kill him easily, and not feel a thing about it. That made me feel good about myself.

Koby, the vampire hunter from New York was faking an Italian accent. I watched the blue haired Japanese man try to hide his smile. He thought he tricked me because I was wounded and disoriented. I wonder how he knew we were here, and how he got here so fast. And did Zeea come with him? I wanted to laugh at how stupid they both were.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked sickly so he suspected nothing.

Somewhere safe," he replied.

"Where? Here in Rome?"

"Yes. Very close by." I could tell that he was getting annoyed.

"How far away exactly?"

He grimaced. "I am not sure."

I didn't expect the vampire hunter to be a vampire. It sounded kind of wrong to me to kill your own kind. Maybe that was just because I couldn't kill my own kind, if they even were my kind. Everyone seems to think I am something else. But what else could I be?

I wasn't a mermaid, that's for sure. I was definitely not a fairy or a normal werewolf. I wasn't even a normal vampire. There was nothing else I could possibly be, except for a hybrid. Maybe I was just an extra special rare one.

I had no idea.

Koby ran through the dark streets, taking so many turns that I had no idea how to get back. He ran fast like a vampire, and completely forgot that he was pretending to be human. I sat back against his arms, relaxing the whole way there. And why shouldn't I? I was in no danger.

Yes, there could be some later, but not right now. Koby spoke to me, however; I wasn't listening. He talked the whole way there, why would I listen? When he mentioned something that caught my attention I spoke.

"What?"

"Did you know the two men who were fighting?" Koby repeated.

"What men?" I asked, confused.

"Where I found you, there were twins fighting each other," he explained.

Something should have registered in my brain just then, but it didn't. "I never saw anyone."

"Oh." He let it drop.

We were stopped at an abandoned building with many statures all around it. It might have been on of the old buildings from a long time ago, the ones they try to preserve. He walked into it without knocking or saying one word. The inside was dark and dusty. It looked like no one had lived here in centuries. I laughed once, but then snapped my mouth shut.

"You live here?" I asked skeptically. I knew he didn't live here.

"This is just a safe place," he replied, some of his Japanese accent showed through the Italian. He was stupid.

I was set on the damp, dusty floor. I grimaced as I looked down at it. "What no disgusting sofa?"

"Shut up," he locked the door.

"Oh please like that's going to stop me."

Zeea came out of nowhere. Her half braided, half straight hair was up above her head in a fashionable way. The rest of the outfit was the same grungy one from New York, though. She smiled at me like we were meeting each other for the first time. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"Actually—" I tried to say actually I do, but she cut me off.

"Of course you don't because we pumped your room full of special gas. I made it myself. You have no idea how many vampires we have taken down with its help."

I pursed my lips to keep from smiling.

"Set her on the table, I can feel myself growing older already," Zeea complained.

What? That didn't make any sense.

"We shouldn't wait so long. I think I have a few gray hairs."

"I'm sorry," Koby groaned, now in his normal voice.

"I really need it," Zeea leaned over me, and looked over my body like a drug addict looks over his next fix.

"I know exactly what you mean," he sighed.

Koby set me on a lab-type table, which Zeea had pulled from another room. Next to me were different knives and saws. I was starting to feel a little nervous about this. I tried to get up, but I spun around dizzy, and fell back down.

"I drugged you," Koby said proudly.

"How?" I demanded.

"When we were talking and you weren't paying attention to me." He laughed at his own work.

"Oh." That's strange how the drugs affected me, but whatever they put in the hotel room had no effect on me. I groaned and leaned against the table, ready to be sick. I couldn't take being in this disgusting home anymore. It wasn't even a home, just a bunch of bricks waiting to be torn down.

"Do you want to do it the same way we did the last one?" Koby asked Zeea.

"Whatever is the fastest," she growled, holding her stomach. I watched her gaze over the small wrinkles on her face. She then got very sad. "I am turning old Koby, you need to hurry up!"

"You think I am going to make you young?" My words came out half strangled.

"We don't think, we know," Koby smiled, sharpening a knife.

"You are completely insane. You two are vampires. You are already immortal. Why do you need to kill a hybrid?"

"Shut up vampire!" Koby slapped me across the face.

"As for your assumptions. You are wrong. We would never be a demonic creature like you. We just have the appearance of them because of how many we have killed. Trust me, we have killed many."

"I never said I didn't believe you."

"That's good then." He started to sharpen the knife again.

"Koby I think the knife is sharp enough," Zeea cussed and started throwing a fit of rage around the room. "I need it Koby, I need it now. You better cut her open and give it to me!"

"We haven't even done the ceremony yet," Koby complained.

Zeea cussed out him and the ceremony. Then she punched the wall, leaving a ragged hole behind. "Hurry up."

Oh God. This wasn't good at all.

"I am not a vampire, I swear. Whatever you think is going to happen will not work. I am a hybrid. We are not the same things at all," I yelled at them.

Koby just laughed above me.

Zeea was about ready to take the knife and shove it inside him. She was now rocking back and forth on the floor. She started crawling around towards us afterwards, growling and clawing at him.

"You have a problem Zeea. You are a crack head," he laughed.

"I am not addicted to crack," she disagreed.

"Blood whatever," he chuckled.

"I need it inside me now!" Zeea screamed, and pushed Koby out of the way. She picked up the knife, and raised it over me.

I screamed as the knife came down…


End file.
